


Lithium Rose

by StarYeti



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adventure, Divergent Timelines, Drama, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 116,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24847237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarYeti/pseuds/StarYeti
Summary: A small difference could lead to a different fate. Ruby Rose reacted almost immediately to Cinder and Pyyrha's fight, in time to lose her arm to the villain. Now she must find a way to fight on through the loss and potential of losing even more to secret war waged between Ozpin and the mysterious backer of Cinder Fall.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Unbalanced

Ruby Rose awoke slowly with her consciousness returning from the bottom of a deep ocean, along with the aching pain. I was a dull throbbing permeating all throughout her body where her muscles screamed with tiny movements and joints creaked. A tiny gasp escaped her lips as she reached to push the covers a little further down from her shoulders. Her left arm came up with her right but something was wrong. Looking down with a start she could not see the rest of her left arm. It was gone, missing and where her arm ended was a bandaged stump. A cry of strangled horror gurgled out of her startling awake the other person in the room.

“Ruby!” Taiyang was up and by her side in an instant, grasping her remaining hand in his calloused ones, “You’re awake I’m so glad you woke up!”

“D-dad? What? Why?” So many questions tried to tumble past her dry throat as tears welled up in her confused expression. The pain only made the confusion worse. She could recognize her room and that it had to be somewhat before noon judging by the light outside.

“Shhh, Ruby, it’s fine. You’re safe in Patch. You’re home. Okay? You’re home.” He hugged her close and tight. He had been almost inconsolable when he had seen his daughters and the shape they were in. His eldest was injured by the White Fang and the youngest missing something important. He had broken down when he had laid her unconscious form in her bed.

“Dad my arm… it’s gone.” Another sob choked out as she desperately tried to hold it back. A strange weightlessness pervaded her left side. Something obviously missing that should have been there.

“Yes Ruby it’s gone. Do you…. Can you remember what happened that night? Anything?”

“I-I remember….” It flashed into her memory. Arriving at the top of the tower using Weiss’ glyphs and seeing Cinder before a kneeling Pyrrha. She had leapt to attack but then felt a burning pain in her arm.

_Cinder smiled down and the young silver-eyed girl bleeding onto the ground before slowly nocking an arrow in her bow and with all leisure let it fly into the chest of the champion at her feet. The thunk of the arrow caught Ruby’s attention and she stared as Pyrrha struggled and twitched, the shaft protruding from the center of her chest. A chuckle from the victor as she stepped forward, placed a hand to the forehead of the red headed girl, and incinerated her. A fierce, piercing pain lanced behind Ruby’s eyes as she watched her friend drift away as ash in the wind. A blinding white light was the last she could remember._

“Oh, gods Dad! Pyyrha! She-she died! I-” before she could get further her father enveloped her in another hug. He wanted to share her pain, to tell her that everything would be okay but he had been where she was before. Taiyang knew that grief, fresh grief, wasn’t so simple. Early on it could feel like one was drowning and the only thing he could do was hold his little girl.

“Yeah… Ruby. She’s gone. I’m sorry. The important thing is that you are safe.” _Stupid, Tai, really stupid_ he thought to himself. Maybe she really was safe but right now, to her, that wasn’t what mattered.

Tears flowed freely as Ruby wept into her blanket. Taiyang stayed with her until she had cried herself back to sleep. With a sigh he got up and turned to see Qrow propped in the doorway. Tilting his head to the side like he wanted to talk. After gently closing the door with one last look at his daughter the blond man gave an expectant look at the other. 

“Tai… how is she?” The concern radiated off the man almost as much as the stench of alcohol. Qrow had been the one to first find Ruby and Taiyang had heard how panicked the man had become, fearing another Summer. He was always blaming himself for things like that. 

“Cried herself back to sleep. When she was injured she didn’t have time to realize what had happened so now it’s like everything happened at once.”

“She’s Summer and your’s daughter, Tai. If anyone can come back from this it’s her. She’s remarkably strong like that.” Taiyang just gave Ruby’s uncle a complicated expression and left, his footsteps sounding as he descended the staircase.

“Qrow?” A voice sound behind him. Turning around he found his niece standing in the hallway with a worried expression on her face.

“Hey firecracker. Looks like Ruby woke up, and cried herself back to sleep.” He added when she opened her mouth to no doubt ask to see her sister. Even more worry flashed across her face as she stared a hole into the door to Ruby’s room, “How are you holding up kiddo?”

At his question Yang held a hand to her chest where under her shirt she had bandages running from her right shoulder to left hip. The wound came from where Adam had cut her as she charged in to save her partner, “It doesn’t bother me too much any more as long as I don’t move around too much. I’m gonna have a sick scar though.” She gave a bit of a smirk that turned into a grimace when she tried to puff out her chest.

“Yeah, yeah kid you got nothing to prove to me. If you want you can go in just don’t wake her up. But I guess you already know that seeing as you an’ Tai have been in there constantly since you came back. EVEN WHEN WE TOLD YOU TO STAY IN BED.” He ruffled her hair as he walked past earning a glare and an expletive before she huffed and took one long look at her sister’s room. So she had finally awoken? It had been four days since they had gotten home from Beacon. Honestly she had been almost as bad as Taiyang had when she had seen Ruby’s condition. That left Qrow to be the responsible one which had annoyed the blond father and daughter to no end. 

  
  


“So. What exactly _did_ Ruby do? I mean to that giant grimm.” Yang added when her father gave her a raised eyebrow. Taiyang started looking really uncomfortable looking between Qrow and his daughter. She came and sat on the couch next to her father in the living room. 

“She’s special, Yang, and not in a Daddy’s-special-girl kind of way,” he added the second bit when both blonds opened their mouths, “I mean Special. The same kind of special Summer was.” Taiyang found something really interesting right outside the living room window at that moment.

“Did Ruby ever tell you everything Oz said to her the night they met? The night when she got accepted into Beacon?” He continued after she shook her head, “The first words out of his mouth were ‘You have silver eyes’. You see, Yang, Oz believes in fairytales...at least the ones that are true. This one… well… there’s a legend. Of a certain set of silver-eyed warriors destined for greatness from birth. Legend says they could strike a grimm down with a mere look of their eyes. As for the truth, well, there’s a giant dragon frozen on Beacon tower and your sister is here, safe and sound.”

“That’s…. Hard to believe.” Impossible, more like. But something happened that night. People had whispered about the great flash of light that had left the monster immobile. 

“Believe it or not the evidence is right in front of you firecracker.” Qrow must have seen the disbelief on her face. But again how else was she supposed to react. Everyone already knew what Ruby’s semblance was so it couldn’t be that. 

“Dad, did you know about all this?!” Looking over at her father who had been decidedly keeping his attention out the window.

Taiyang turned around rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, “Well I knew about the legends, yeah. I’m as surprised as you are about all this, though Qrow told me more about it when they brought Ruby back.”

She thought once more to her precious Rubaby upstairs. One who had cried herself back to sleep not minutes before. While Yang could share in the grief of losing friends she didn’t know what it was like to lose an arm, a part of yourself. There was no telling how Ruby would react to it. The more she thought about it the more she realized she was getting angry. That anger had one focal point as a certain dark haired woman came to mind. 

“Uncle Qrow, Dad… one more thing. The people who did this to her… What happened to them?” Her eyes were crimson and both fists clenched tight.

Qrow looked to Taiyang then back at his niece, “We don’t know, Yang. Their trail leads back to Haven but after that it’s gone. Without the CCT, finding anything out is gonna take a long, long time and with the chaos that’s sure to be all over I don’t know how many resources could or will be spared to look for Cinder and her goons.” 

“Tch. Fine. I’m gonna check on Ruby. I wanna be there when she wakes up again.” Heavy footfalls thudded as she stalked back upstairs.

“Qrow if she…”

“I’ll look after her if anything happens Tai. Don’t worry. The last thing I want is her rushing off half-cocked and getting killed or worse. But I gotta ask a favour. I wanna have a moment alone to explain everything to Ruby when she wakes back up okay?” Taiyang clicked his tongue with annoyance but agreed anyways. 

  
  


She felt like she had needed the rest when she woke back up but the grief came back with consciousness. It was manageable now, though, and Ruby sat up with a sniffle. It was dark out now and a different blond figure sat by her bed with a hand in hers. Yang dozed next to the bed her chin down on her chest and hand in her sister’s. The shifting must have woken her because the blond lifted her head groggily.

“Ruby?” She blinked rapidly and emotions ranging from worry to relief washed over her face,”Ruby! You’re alright. Thank the gods!” A crushing hug engulfed the younger girl as the older sibling smothered her in her relief. 

“Yang… stoooooop.” She had always been ineffective at stopping Yang’s ursa-like hugs but it was a gesture in futility now that she had lost an arm. Her sister didn’t let up until Ruby started pinching her sister’s side and a desperate attempt to get some breathing room. While it was great that her family was her for her when she woke up she was starting to feel claustrophobic with all the smothering.

“Sorry Rubes. I’m just so glad to see you up. You’ve been out for days since you did a number on that grimm. When Qrow found you and I saw your arm..”

“Yang what about Weiss and Blake?” Ruby said interrupting her now gushing sister, suddenly wanting to talk about something else and also realizing that there was a lot she had missed out on. She didn’t expect to see the rest of their team in her home but still was desperate to find out any more of what had happened.

“Weiss is gone. Back to Atlas. Her father came for her. Ruby things are bad. The last thing the world saw was Atlas mechs murdering citizens of Vale. Her father came to take her back home. And Blake… she left.” A flash of crimson so quick that Ruby almost doubted it was there in the first place. Ruby caught on and made a note to ask more about Blake later. “The school… it’s really bad Rubes. You may have done some damage to that monster but it’s still there, just frozen, and attracting more grimm into the school. With the CCT down no one knows what really happened at Beacon and it’s, well, bad. Sorry, I seem to be saying that word a lot Sis.”

Ruby mustered a weak smile as she squeezed her sister’s hand, “How about you Yang? Are you alright? The last I saw you and Blake were injured. She was stabbed and you were covered in so much blood and that wound looked so bad.” Tears started to well up just remember the gruesome scene she and Weiss saw when they had met up with Sun at the bullhead docks that night. 

“I’m fine as you can see Rubes. To be honest I thought Adam had me but luckily Blake saved me. She dove in, tackling me just in time to stop me being gutted stem to stern by her ex. Don’t worry Sis, I’m gonna get so much mileage out of this. Our kitten is gonna be spoiling me for a long time.” A wink to assure her younger sister as Yang went on about the kinds of things she could, and probably would, do to make Blake repay her for almost being killed by a crazy ex. Ruby started giggling under her breath as everything seemed like it might be okay. 

Sure she had lost an arm but Yang was here for her and so was her dad and her uncle. It was weird, really, her arm felt like it was almost there but not. Like a word on the tip of her tongue if she just reached out then she could touch something but no matter how she tried she never could. The thought brought a bitter smile to her face. The more she sat there the more she realized how big this was. The realization slowly sinking in.

“Ruby?” Yang had stopped talking and had a worried expression on her face. Ruby felt something and touched her own cheek, her fingers coming away damp. Tears were coming down her face. In a haste she started wiping them away with the back of her hand. 

“Sorry Yang. It’s just... it’s hard to really think about it, I mean my arm is gone. A part of me and I just don’t really know how to feel. And I’m upset because I don’t know how to feel.”

“You’ll be okay Ruby. Maybe not right away but you will.”

“Yeah…” Her voice trailed off, she was not so sure she ever would be. A knock came on the doorframe and Qrow stood there siping from his flask. Ruby put on a smile for her uncle and greeted him with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “Hey Uncle Qrow!”

“Hey Pipsqueak. How you holding up?”

“Well I won’t be clapping for a while, so…” A snort sounded from Yang and Qrow smirked before turning to Yang. Humor was good, humor was healing and it was a huge burden off his shoulder if his niece was already attempting to crack jokes, even if they weren’t funny. He took a breath before deciding it was time to get a few thing out of the way.

“Give us a minute, eh, Firecracker?” Rolling her eyes Yang did as her uncle told her. 

“I’ll get some tea from Dad or something Rubes.” Qrow nodded to her in thanks as she passed him. After taking another sip Qrow tucked his flask back into his pocket and commandeered Yang’s now vacant seat. He looked over his niece now that she was awake. Her eyes were puffy and red with telltale streaks down her cheeks. The girl in front of him would not be kept down by anything. 

“So how much did you hear from Yang?”

“Things are bad.”

A chuckle came from the man at the understatement, “Yeah, seems like it. What about that monster at Beacon?”

“Cinder?” Ruby tilted her head quizzically.

“No the other one. The dragon.”

“Ohhh, well everyone keeps saying I did something but what? I don’t understand and I don’t remember doing anything, I just remember Cinder and Pyrrha and pain.” The worry told a story in the face of his niece and the memory brought a fresh wave of pain to her face. It was enough to make Qrow almost wince in sympathy. His niece was too young for all the things the world was throwing at her and if he could have spared her he would have gladly taken her place in everything that had happened.

Qrow sat in thought for a moment before saying carefully, “You remember what Oz said to you when you first met him? Something about silver eyes?” He continued when she nodded at him, “Well there’s this legend…”

So he started explaining to her everything he had told Yang and about him being an agent for Ozpin.

* * *

Yang put the kettle atop the stove and turned the burner on before loading a tray with cups and sugar cubes. Her hands gripped into fists as she recalled Ruby, her sister, and the look she had staring at where her arm used to be. Lilac turned crimson as she remembered that smug face of the woman that did this to Ruby. The longer she stood there the angrier she got, her hair started giving off heat and was about to ignite when her dad came up behind her settling his hands on her shoulders. 

“Yang you’re gonna set fire to the house again. You haven’t done that in years, what’s wrong?”

She whirled about, eyes still red, and stared at her father, “What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG?! My little sister is sitting upstairs with one arm and her friends murdered in front of her eyes while the bitch that did it is still on the loose. My Ruby is hurting and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it!”

“Oh and if you could do something what would you do? Go after this Cinder person? Make her pay?” Taiyang rolled his eyes which only made his daughter angrier, “You’d lose yang. The way you are now you wouldn’t stand a chance. You could have died against the White Fang, and probably would have if it hadn’t been for your partner. Ruby doesn’t need you going out for petty vengeance and coming back in a casket.”

That took all the heat out of Yang, her eyes shifting back to normal, “What else am I supposed to do then, Dad? Fighting’s all I’m good at.”

“Good? Hardly. I watched all your fights in the Vytal Festival. You’re predictable and stubborn. Did you know you won every fight using your semblance?”

Yang scoffed, “Semblances are hardly cheating, they’re a part of us Dad. Besides, everyone else was using theirs.”

“True. But not everyone has a semblance that relies on you taking damage. What if you can’t take the hit? What if you miss dishing it back? You’re just gonna tire yourself out and leave yourself vulnerable. You’re stubborn, like your mom, but the thing is Yang you don’t need to barge through every problem. Just take the time to step back and look. There’s often a way around, rather than through.”

The young blond cast her eyes to the floor, shuffling her feet, her anger all but forgotten. Sometimes it could be easy to forget Taiyang was a teacher, especially when he was busy being Dad. Sometimes he could be just so frustratingly right that even a rebellious teenager couldn’t discount what he said. However Yang latched on to one thing he said.

“So is it okay to talk about her now?” That was low. She knew it but it didn’t make her sorry for it. Yang remembered the looks on his face every time she brought up Raven. Didn’t she have a right to know about her own mother? Maybe she considered Summer her mom but that didn’t change the fact that she had a strong desire to know, a powerful curiosity at the kind of person her biological mother was and several questions for her burning in the back of her mind where they had been since she had been a child.

“Well I think you’ve grown enough to handle it.” Just like that? All of a sudden she can just _handle it_? Instead of saying anything she just looked up expectantly at her father, willing him to continue, “Yang. You have a lot of Raven in you. It’s part of the reason I never talked about her to you. I didn’t want you going down a similar path. I was afraid.”

Yang cast her eyes downwards, “I’m sorry I remind you of her Dad.”

“Don’t be. You are Yan Xiao-Long. My sunny little dragon and I am SO proud of you. I’m proud of the things of your mother that I see in you. Her drive and ambition. The way she put her all into any cause she wanted to. They are what made me fall in love with her and I’m glad I don’t see all of her in you. She had faults. Faults that caused our team to fracture and frankly did a real number on this family.”

Yang looked up at her dad. This was new. Never before had he talked about Raven before, always avoiding the issue one way or another. The hurt had always been there and still was but now she could see something else. Love. Love for her and what remained of the love for her mother that abandoned them. Maybe he couldn’t forgive her but it didn’t mean he still didn’t have love in his heart for her either. And now Yang felt how much he loved her realizing that she was not just a reminder of his lost love but of something else. Something far greater. 

“Hey Dad.” She looked at him with a small shade of trepidation, “Can you teach me how to fight?”


	2. Piece by Piece

Yang took the oncoming strike to her left and jabbed out with her right. She did not expect her father to twist his torso to both avoid her fist and bring him inside her guard. There he stuck his heel into the back of her knee and drove an elbow to her temple. With a grunt she ended up on her hands and knees. She scrambled over and back onto her feet before Taiyang could finish the combo with an axe kick where her head used to be. The young brawler rushed back in, determined not to let up for a moment.

Taiyang let his hand roll along her wrist, flowing with her first straight, gripping it and pulling his daughter into another elbow strike which she barely managed to catch with her free hand. He gave her a quick smirk and headbutted her onto her rear, “You like it down there, daughter of mine?”

With a harrumph the younger blond sprawled out on the grass they had been training on. They were both covered in a sheen of sweat after having been sparring for a good half hour already. She had yet to get any decent hit on her father and that had frustrated her to no end. She had thought that after everything that had happened at Beacon maybe she could really beat her dad. But the reality is far more humbling because even though Taiyang was a retired huntsman he was still a teacher at Signal. Being a combat instructor had its perks and it was by far and away incredibly aggravating that he saw through her every move. He knew it too, judging by the shit-eating grin plastered on his face. 

A towel interrupted her thoughts as it impacted her face revealing a pleased looking Zwei when she removed it to dry herself. After sitting up her father handed her a water bottle as he pulled gulps from his on. He continued studying her curiously as she hastily drank from hers. 

“You’re predictable Yang.” He finally said with a hand stroking his stubble. 

“Dad, you taught me how to fight.” Her annoyance at him grew. He had just been toying with her for half an hour and now he was poking at her pride. She knew how to fight, there was a large amount of bruised egos in Vale to attest to that. 

“No I mean even to someone else you’re predictable. I told you last week that when I watched you in the tournament that you used your semblance to win every fight. You aren’t that hard to figure out when you lean into hits like that. Just because you get energy from being hit doesn’t mean you should get in the habit of taking them. I didn’t teach you that. Also you keep relying on your fists but forget that your whole body can be a weapon, even your mind.”

Yang just grumbled in response, not willing to listen to his advice. That was fine though since Taiyang was used to dealing with adolescents, his daughter in particular. He supposed he would just have to beat these lessons into her until they stuck, however long that took. His sunny dragon was no fool, she knew he was right and just needed some time to think about it. He stole a quick glance up to the second floor of the house and saw his other daughter watching. He offered a quick smile and wave, which was a mistake because Yang chose that moment to resume their spar by throwing an uppercut at him.

He just backed up a half-step letting the fist by by a hairbreadth and rolled his eyes. Predictable.

* * *

  
  
  


Ruby was busy cleaning Crescent Rose, which was a much greater challenge with one hand. Winter had arrived, the days getting shorter, colder, and more drab. The young girl pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Maybe she should have done this downstairs in the living room near the fireplace. Their dad always made sure they had a fire going in the house because he loved the mood it gave off. Even though she was a little on the cold side Ruby dared not touch the cabin’s thermostat. If she did not know any better she would have said that thermostat sense was his semblance. How else did he always know?

Finally finishing the maintenance the young cloaked girl closed and bolted Crescent Rose back together. Standing up she holstered the weapon at the small of her back, the weight a familiar companion she had had since designing the scythe. A quick look outside showed that although it was cloudy, it had yet to actually start raining, or snowing. Also, the backyard was devoid of her father or sister, which she was thankful for. If things did not go to plan, Ruby didn’t want them seeing it. _I just don’t want them to worry too much about me._ That was appropriate right?

Ruby pulled her hood closer over her head against the cold afternoon air as her breath turned white when she stepped out the back door. She had been careful to sneak past the living room where Yand and her dad were watching a movie, some action movie they had owned for years, where the protagonist got beat up while saving the day from some villain. Following the trail for a few minutes to the small clearing she liked to use whenever she came home. None in her family knew about this spot she used to practice by herself or just when she wanted to be alone. 

Set up around the area, pinned to trees, were old and used target boards with sloppy circles painted on them. Holes riddled some of them to the point some were merely a few pieces of wood. Ruby hefted Crescent Rose into scythe form, resting it on her shoulder. After looking for a moment she spotted a relatively untouched target that was a good hundred feet away. With a one-handed twirl she stuck the tip of her scythe’s blade into the ground. Pulling back the bolt she chambered a dust round into the rifle before using the same hand to grip the part of the haft where the firing mechanism sat. After taking aim she triggered her weapon to fire.

The shot disappeared past the tree trunk, whizzing into the darkness. With a small scowl Ruby chambered another round and fired again. The same result. The hooded girl kept firing over and over, only hitting the target a few times by the final click that signified an empty magazine. With a sigh she shouldered Cresent Rose and walked up to inspect the target. There were only four hits. Her magazines held ten rounds and she used to be able to land every shot at this distance. She considered herself a sniper for a reason and this was just way to low.

A feeling of irritation welled up inside of her and she spun about on her heel, slicing into the trunk of the tree the target was attached to with her weapon. Rather than cutting clean through it got buried halfway into the trunk. Ruby just stared at the point of contact, wide-eyed as frustrated tears welled up in her eyes. With a loud cry she pulled hard and freed Crescent Rose from the wood, falling on her behind as a result from the exertion. Unwilling to get up, Ruby just sobbed into her hands.

This was so unfair. Her fighting style relied on a two handed weapon. Now, reduced to only one, she could not swing with enough force to cut down a tree much less steady Crescent Rose enough to aim properly and forget about using it in rifle mode unless she was prone. Slowly the crushing realization dawned on the young girl as she sat there in the clearing, sobbing uncontrollably with her hand no longer over her mouth but rather clutching her whole head. She had to face the facts, she was a liability in a fight. She couldn’t be a hunter anymore, could no longer be the hero in a fairy tale that saved the world. 

Not that she believed in fairy tales anymore, anyways. No one ever died in those. Not like Pyyrha, or Penny…. Or her mother, Summer. Over the next few minutes Ruby struggled to get her tears under control. A deep breath in and then she got up, putting Crescent Rose back in it’s holster at her back. Even if she could not wield it properly anymore it was still her baby and she still treasured it as the her first weapon. She meandered in a specific direction, one she knew only too well. 

After another ten or fifteen minutes of walking the edge of a cliff came into view. It was almost like she had just been here and in a sense she had. The last time she had visited this spot was just before the start of the new term and the Vytal Festival. She and her dad had both visited this spot that was precious to their family. Approached the cliff face and settled onto her knees just before the piece of square stone just in front of her. On it were carved the words _Summer Rose: Thus Kindly I Scatter._ It was her mother’s grave marker and one she visited every time she came back to Patch.

“Hey Mom. It’s me, Ruby. Just in case you didn’t recognize me, with one arm and all.” She let out a bitter laugh at the incredibly inept humor before taking a deep breath, “Even though I just came to see you, a lot has happened. A lot of bad things. I told you last time about a lot of friends I made, way more than at Signal, but now… two of them are dead. They were Penny and Pyyrha.”

Her voice choked on the last name and her throat threatened to clamp down on her words but she muscled past the feeling, “Penny was killed in an accident and Pyyrha… Pyyrha was murdered. Mom, believe me I tried to be like you. To help people. She was right there and I could have saved her but…” Ruby looked down at where she no longer had a limb, cut off just before the elbow. She had received a cap for it, to keep it clean and such, but now it was hidden under the long sleeve of her outfit and her cloak.

“I failed and everyone else paid the price. Heck I got off easy because at least I’m alive.” Her hand clutched over her left shoulder, “What do I do Mom? I can’t fight anymore. I can’t save people. I failed and I can’t even get back up to try again!” The last part rose to a crescendo that echoed out over the still forest. All that was left in the silence was the sound of Ruby’s labored breathing, the vapor forming white clouds in front of her face. With no answer to her cries she just sat the for who knows how long until she heard footsteps from behind her. 

She made no move to see who it was, she didn’t care. A weight pressed against her back as she felt whoever it was hug her from behind, their arms coming around her shoulders to embrace her tightly. Yang’s face came into view as she rested her chin on her sister’s shoulder, her breath joining the younger sibling’s as white mist in the air. Nothing was said as they stayed like that for the next few minutes until Ruby reached up and put her hand on the other’s. 

She caught a small ‘I love you’ as her elder sister helped her stand up. When Ruby finally looked at the other girl there was a smile bright as day staring back at her. Her sister was a constant comfort in her life, a veritable sun shining on her darkness. She could not love her family any more. They held hands on the way back to the house nothing really passing between them and nothing needing to. She knew what Yang wanted to say. That’s all there was to it, a bond beyond words. That’s why she was surprised when her sister spoke up.

“We’ve got a surprise waiting for you at home Rubes.” A surprise? Like what? Ruby couldn’t help but be incredibly curious. It had felt great to cry everything out to her mother like that and although the grief was there it was a lot more manageable now. No longer would she be a walking party pooper, she promised herself. No, she had her sister and together there was nothing they could not overcome.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Ruby stopped dead in her tracks, blocking the middle of the entranceway to their cabin. Her brain stopped functioning as she looked at what her sister’s “surprise” was in the middle of their living room. It really was the last thing she expected and an excellent surprise, and Yang knew it from the shit-eating grin that was plastered all over her face. An awkward cough brought her halted brain back into fifth gear.

“Ren! Nora!” She squealed her friend’s names as she rushed into an embrace with the ginger in a shower of rose petals, the black haired youth joining in not quite as reluctantly as he would have had others believe. Even though Ruby tried, a one armed hug was an arduous affair, luckily Nora made up for that, bringing everyone into a huge group hug with her crushing strength. The boy let out a sigh that was at odds with the small smile on his face.

“What are you guys even doing here!” The young girl seemed to have lost the ability to control the volume of her voice in her excitement but it seems Nora was not one to be out done in either volume or excitement.

“We had nowhere to stay!” she shouted out, “So Yang told us before your dad came and picked everyone up to come hang out!” 

Ren must have noticed the red dressed girls confusion because he stepped in to elaborate, “Nora and I, being orphans, don’t really have a family to go back to. We stayed in Vale a while to help the Beacon faculty where we could before deciding to come to Patch to see how you were doing. It was Yang who both invited us and gave us directions. “

It was then that Taiyang entered the room with a tray of drinks and snacks which he put on the coffee table. Nora let out an excited ‘ooh’ and descended upon the food leaving the two she had just been bear hugging. 

“Any friends of yours, girls, is welcome to stay here for however long.” Their father spoke up, offering the two a place to stay but Ruby couldn’t help but think that this had been premeditated by her father and sister, if the knowing looks they shared was anything to go on. They were really bad at surprised so they seemed really pleased that this one had gone so well. 

“Thank you for your hospitality Mr. Xiao-Long.” Ren bowed to their father earning an awkward smile from the retired huntsman and Nora yelled something about gratitude from around the mouth-full of cookies she had. The young one armed huntress wiped a tear away as she smiled at her friends, a weight she did not even know she had been carrying lessened on her shoulders. She loved her friends dearly and that would never change, she would do anything for them, especially her team. 

Yang threw an arm around her sister and affectionately ruffled her hair. They all all started catching up, even though it had only been a couple months since they had seen one another so much had happened. Ren told them that their leader had gone back to his village but would come visit himself after a time. Nora started telling tales of Pyyrha, with Ren providing corrections, about her attempts to get Jaune to notice her. Even though she felt a twinge of sadness every time she came up it felt good to remember her too. 

As the day wore on the sun went down and they retired to the guest rooms, reunion party still in full swing. By now Yang had started telling stories of her sister which cause Ruby to retaliate with the story of when Yang set the house on fire with her semblance. The blonde froze when even Ren chuckled at the telling and all hell broke loose as the two sisters started wrestling around which only ended as Nora jumped into the fray.

Eventually the party died down at the midnight hour, Ruby had fallen asleep in her sister’s arms and finally the blonde looked to the other two. 

“It’s gonna be painful to leave her here.” Yang finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper as she locked eyes with the other two. Even Nora looked serious, for Nora at least. 

“I know. But this is something we have to do. I cannot sit idly by while that woman gets away with what she has done. We will bring her to just.” Ren’s eyes steeled and a rare gleam of anger could be seen within.

“We have a lot of legs to break.” Nora smiled viciously. Her and her obsession with legs, Yang almost felt sorry for Cinder. Okay not even close. She’d hold the woman down while Nora did it. 

“Once Jaune gets here we’ll head for Haven Academy. Once there we will do what we can to pick up Cinder’s trail. It’s the only lead we have so it better pan out.” Her eyes turned red in anticipation of what was to come. The journey would be long and difficult but if it meant protecting her baby sister then there wasn’t anything she would not do, “I’mma get to bed guys, see you in the morning.” 

The blonde picked up her sleeping sister and gently carried her down the upstairs hall and tucked her into her bed. Her eyes back to lilac as she looked at the small form in the bed, focusing on the left side, or where there should have been something. With a sigh she turned the lights off and quietly closed the door to the room.

As soon as the door close Ruby opened her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. She had heard everything. Yang and her friends were planning on leaving for Haven without her. Her hand came away from her face and a new look settled in her eyes. 


	3. Back to Basics

Ruby grumbled as she was dragged along by her sister. Nora and Ren followed just behind with the former talking animatedly about how many pancakes she was going to get. Honestly why was Yang dragging her into town with them this early when the girl was usually not up before the crack of noon. The younger sister stared with longing back the direction of her oh so warm bed and her work desk with it’s incomplete project sitting on top. 

Despite her pleas for help their father had just waved them off as Yang dragged them all out to have breakfast in Patch. While she was hungry she was just as sleepy, staying up far too late to work on the new project, which was difficult enough with one hand. Oh well at least she still had so many parts left over from when she made Crescent Rose that this would be much easier than making something from scratch. 

Crescent Rose was not the first weapon Ruby Rose had built and it would not be the last. But until she could get back to it the young girl guessed she could humor her sister, plus _someone_ needed to reign her sister in, Nora was more than enough to keep Ren busy not to mention having to deal with her _and_ Yang. She felt a little guilty keeping her project a secret from her friends but they had it coming, trying to leave without her. 

After finally convincing Yang she could, in fact, walk on her own without falling asleep they all finally found the small diner her father had frequented with them. Luckily it was just a half hour or so from their cabin. Being so close yet seemingly so far from civilization was what her father loved about their small island home. 

Finally being seated Ruby’s eyes lit up over the menu, _They have chocolate chip pancakes!_ That was like a pancake cookie, just as good as cookies for breakfast without all the nagging from Yang. Nora ordered an enormous amount of buttermilk pancakes and the look on the waiter’s face when he was told that it was just for her? Priceless. The young girl started to wonder if pancakes where what made Nora grow so much while staring at a particular place on the ginger’s body. 

Ren ordered a small plate of waffles for himself whereas Yang ordered a meaty omelette, her favorite. They made small talk while waiting for their food to arrive, though it mostly consisted of the lone male asking about Patch and it’s history. Which is why it surprised Ruby when the conversation turned to her.

“How are things with you Ruby? Yesterday we didn’t really have a chance to talk about how you’ve been doing since the Fall.”

Ruby looked around and saw every eye at the table turned to her. Yang was interested and Nora was bouncing around mumbling about pancakes but still paying attention. “Well I’ve been okay I guess. It’s kinda inconvenient but it’s not like it’s gonna go away. Can’t really regrow my arm so…” She tried to shrug it off but only got and unconvinced eyebrow from Ren. Even her sister look a little worried. 

“Look guys it’s been over a month and a half since Beacon. You expect me to cry all day? Well no one can feel sorry for themselves all the time. Honestly, I’m a lot better now, and having you guys around helps more than you know. I’ve done my crying. Believe me. But I’m done with that. Okay? What about you Yang? What about that nasty cut?” She tossed the attention over to her sister, only too happy to shift the focus over.

With a smirk she pulled down her collar to expose the part of the scar that ran up to her collarbone, earning the eyes from most of the male patrons nearby, “Aura does wonders Sis. I’m all healed up. Bitchin’ scar right?” This got Nora pitching that they should totally become mercenaries and how Yang could show off the scar when they drunk after battles. 

The waiter appeared, just in time to stop the ginger from starting a riot, with their food. Nora dug in with a gusto that shocked anyone who did not know her. Ruby was slowly cutting her pancakes up when her sister leaned over to help her, much to her chagrin. 

“Yang, I can cut them myself! I’m not useless, I only lost an arm!” The sister in question froze. It was unusual for Ruby to raise her voice right off the bat like that but she just mumbled an apology and went back to her own food, though only poking at it now. Immediately the younger sister regretted it. How could she explain it? She appreciated the concern but doing everything for her made her feel so… useless.

“Yang….. I’m sorry. It’s just that…. Well I’m fine and I can use my arm just fine.” Yang just gave her a small smile and a quick side hug before returning to her food. _Ugh why do I have to be so bad at things!_ Ruby complained to herself while she laughed awkwardly while Nora, in a rare show of tact, steered the conversation to news from around Remnant. There wasn’t all that much. 

With Vale’s CCT tower down the support towers could not transmit very far. Scrolls still worked fairly locally but only if a support tower could pick up the signal and relay it. News was sparse across Sanus and nonexistent from the other continents. Despite her earlier outburst Ruby could say she actually was having a good time. 

Now, time for more pancakes.

  
  


* * *

  
  


General Ironwood sat at his desk pouring over the reports and estimates in front of him. He released a tired sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. A knock sounded at the door and opened a moment later admitting an older man with white hair. He was rounded out and had a worn lab-coat around his plush frame. A soft smile perpetually adorned his face as he greeted the general. 

“How are you James? It’s been quite a while since we were last face to face.” They clasped hands together as the Ironwood returned the man’s smile.

“I wish it were under better circumstances, Geppetto. But as you can see…” James motioned out the window, the expanse outside still drab, and beacon visible on the horizon with the dragon perched, still, upon the crumbled tower. “Reconstruction efforts are underway, but slow going.”

“Mmm yes it would speed things up if we could use the mechs but…” The general nodded at the other man’s understanding.

“After the Fall of Beacon the mechs were all recalled to Atlas. For the better I suppose. Vale may know this wasn’t Atlas’ fault but the rest of the world? They point fingers. So for now I have my men helping to rebuild. Hopefully the rebuilding isn’t just of homes, but trust too.”

The older man nodded, closing his eyes before changing topics, “I should hope so too. About what you sent a message for? The arm?”

James promptly put his scroll on the desk, a large display appearing above it. On it were the a bunch of measurements and other specifications. “Thanks for coming for this personally Geppetto. I di-”

“Nonsense James. I had heard many good things about young Miss Rose from my daughter. This is the least I could do for one of her friends. In fact I brought everything I need with me, I even had a prototype mostly completed that should do the trick quite nicely. Just some changes to meet these requirements. No more than a week, I’d say.” He downloaded the information to his own scroll before replacing it into his lab-coat pocket.

A weight almost visibly lifted from Ironwood’s shoulders as his face relaxed into an easier smile. This was a lot faster than the other technicians said it could be done, months faster. The man before him wasn’t a genius doctor for no reason. He decided to broach a far more serious topic.

“Speaking of your daughter… Geppetto. How is it?” The sadness that crossed the man’s face nearly pierced James’ own heart. He had cared for the girl and the man before him was her creator, Doctor Geppetto Polendina. 

“Penny is gone. The complexities of her design made her unique and cannot be duplicated. She may have been made of metal but she was definitely an individual. Even should I rebuild her, the mind is lost now. The shell would no longer hold the consciousness of Penny Polendina but would reset to a blank slate once more, a newborn. No, my daughter is dead, James, and she will not come back. I could create another model but at most another would simply be her sibling.” He accepted a glass of scotch from the General before settling down into the chair in front of the desk, “I’m glad to see she could make friends though. Heh, before I started this project I never dreamed I would create something like her. She was so curious and vibrant. Ever the inquisitive child.”

James just listened to the heartbroken man as he swirled the drink in his own hand. Even he had grown quite attached to the girl, and she was a young girl, of that he had no doubt. They sat in silence for a few moments in remembrance of the closest thing the Doctor had to a child. Finally Doctor Pelendina downed the rest of the scotch and stood, looking squarely at his old friend.

“That’s why I’ve got to do this personally. Penny wouldn’t want her precious friend to suffer, and I’m not going to idle my time away in some stuffy laboratory in Atlas. No, I think not. I will do what I can for this young girl.” He did have one last parting comment as the he left out the door, turning around and stopping it from close, a twinkle in his eye, “By the time I’m done, this girl is going to be armed _and_ ready!”

A cackle echoed through the small office as the door clicked shut. A sigh escaped the General as he once refilled his glas. 

“It’s going to be a long day.”

* * *

  
  


It was getting late and the sun was dipping on the horizon. Qrow dusted himself off as he climbed out from the ruined elevator shaft. He grumbled and cursed his benefactor’s name as he took a swig from his flask. Finally he pulled out the object that had brought him back to the ruins of Beacon in the first place. 

It was a silver handle with intricate ivy patterns scrawled across it, a lever attached to a mechanism made of cogs that connected into a shaft of wood about two and a half feet long. The top of the handle was adorned with a white hemisphere. The huntsman pulled the lever and the shaft telescoped back into the handle. Qrow couldn’t believe how hard it had been to get this thing, trapped under a bunch of fallen debris. He tried to forget what else he saw down there, there was no reason to lose sleep over the sight of his benefactor’s discarded shell, or at least that is what he told himself.

Seeing the dead was never any easier. 

With the grimm everywhere it was hard enough getting onto Beacon’s desolate grounds, well hard for others. It was why the dead had never been cleared, even months later. The kingdom of Vale certainly had a lot going on, though. Many hunters had been recalled to guard the city from the spawning grimm and there had even been multiple expeditions to try and recover or salvage parts of Beacon. They weren’t very successful. 

I noise reached his ears and a hand went to his weapon while the other stored his objective in a pouch at his waist. Qrow stayed stock still, willing his senses to be sharper as he listened for any additional sound. There, he heard it again. It sounded like retching, which was odd. This was a grimm infested area now and grimm didn’t eat much less the ability to regurgitate anything. 

Quietly Qrow approached the source of noise, still on high alert for anything lurking among the rubble strewn about what used to be the base of Beacon’s tower. He spied a single person doubled over by a bush nearby the decaying remains of what used to be a White Fang member. Of course it would be some crazy tourist who couldn’t hold their chum when seeing a decomposing body for the first time. 

Against his better judgement Qrow decided to get the guy out of there. It was annoying for sure but he didn’t want the guy’s stupidity to get himself killed. Still, the huntsman was surprised someone had made it all the way to the tower without getting killed. On second thought he spied a sword strapped at the waist of the man currently watering the bush with the contents of his last meal. Even a huntsman should not have been up here, not that he was much better. A howl sounded from in the distance causing the doubled over man to snap his head up towards it. 

The had blond hair that reminded him of Taiyang except far less assuming. He wore a hood and jeans like some kind of teenage.

Wait.

Qrow’s palm found his forehead as he realized his mystery hunter was actually a student, one he should probably have recognized earlier as he wracked his brain from the time he had been here just months ago. He had definitely seen this kid before and knew for a fact that he did not belong her now. 

The older huntsman called out as he walked towards the young man who had finally finished retching and was starting to stand up. The kid turned around in a panic and sighted Qrow, starting to stammer until he was silenced by a lone finger held in front of his face.

“Why the hell are you here? If you haven’t noticed your school’s kinda been overrun by grimm.”

The blonde kid looked uncertain for a second before he answered, “There was something I had to get. It… it means a lot to me.”

“Look uhh….”

“Jaune.”

“Jaune, yea. Look Jaune I don’t think your teddy bear is important enough to risk your life in a place like this. Soz how about we go back down into Vale and phone your family or something.” He turned the kid around and started pushing him in the direction of the city

“Actually I’m here for-” Jaune didn’t get very far as he was silenced by the hand over his mouth as the older man shushed him, still pushing towards the city. He took one last look back at the tower before letting out a resigned sigh, allowing Qrow to guide him back into the city.

Not much was said on the way back into Vale, which was an incredible feat of awkwardness considering the walk took an hour and a half. The steep stairs down the cliff face did nothing to help either as the drunk man swayed around on the steps making even Jaune flinch sometimes when he came particularly close to the edge. 

Now Jaune wondered where Yang had really come from when they stood outside an establishment called the CrowBar. With a groan he was dragged inside by the drunken huntsman. They sat at the bar and Qrow ordered two glasses of whiskey and only once they had their drinks did he turn to the young man next to him.

“Umm, Sir-”

“Call me Qrow kid. Sir makes me sound old.” Jaune bit back his retort of the man actually being old when he was leveled with a one eyed glare from the man. 

“Uh, Qrow. Why are we drinking exactly? I mean you haven’t said anything, you just kinda dragged me here.”

Qrow squinted at him for a second in confusion as though they needed a reason to drink, and to him that was probably a legitimate question. Instead of answering he just smirked and tipped his glass up indicating for Jaune to drink his. The blonde had never really tried alcohol before and nearly choked on the whiskey much to the amusement of his drinking partner. He shot a scowl over at the man in question which only earned him more laughter. Not willing to talk to the man anymore he just settled in to sip at the liquid, it’s strength manifesting quite rapidly as he downed it and started in on his second when Qrow ordered him another.

“So what was it?” After looking at the young man next to him Qrow continued, “Nobody just waltzes into that place, not with that many grimm around. Unless you got a death wish. Maybe you do, I won’t judge. But I’m tellin’ ya you should just leave it.”

“I can’t” Jaune mumbled into his glass as he glibly stared at the bottom of it, maybe hoping an answer would spring forth.

It didn’t.

“I know you’ve probably seen some shit. The Fall wasn’t pleasant, for anyone. And trust me kid, I know about seeing shit. I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe, done ‘em too. Never had anyone to talk to about though… even if I coulda used it.” Qrow swished his drink around thoughtfully, he wasn’t one to try and be there for someone but the kid was helpless and he hadn’t become a teacher for no reason.

“Her name was Pyyrha.” The words were so quiet Qrow almost didn’t hear them, he glanced at the kid from the corner of his eyes. Jaune sat there in the same position as before, staring a hole in his glass. He knew the name of course, who didn’t this time not because of her fame but rather something far more recent. 

The brave young girl Oz had chosen to be the Fall Maiden, and it had cost her her life. Oh yeah, this kid had been her partner. Qrow didn’t expect to feel this guilty but he did. And it only got worse as the story went on.

“Apparently she had feeling for me. Of course, I never noticed until it was too late. She stuck me in a locker and sent me off to be safe while she fought Cinder all on her own.” His voice cracked as he gripped the glass in his hand tighter, “She died and I never had a chance to tell her how I felt. She spent so much time to help me. She was brave and smart and just incredible. I have no idea what she saw in me. I didn’t even realize how I felt until after.” 

And it was all Qrow’s fault, or that was how it felt. The blame landed on him just as much as it did Ozpin, but he knew they would make the same choice again if they had to. He hated himself for it. 

“I was at Beacon because her weapons are still there, I wanted to gather them. Maybe reforge them or something. I’m not sure I just wanted something to remember her by. Maybe if I had something of hers I could have half the strength she had.”

Qrow sighed, the story hitting closer to home than he would have liked, “I’ve been there Jaune. I know how it feels to lose someone before you realized how you felt. You got a hotel? You should get some rest” 

Jaune nodded and made to stand up, staggering into the older man made to support him. After paying Qrow walked him back to the kid’s hotel, following the mumbled directions. 

  
  
  
  
  


Jaune awoke with a pounding in his head that he realized after a second was actually the door to his hotel room. Rolling off the bed he realized his clothes from yesterday were still on. After getting to the door he was confused once he got it open. No one was there and he almost closed the door when he saw something out of the corner of his eye on the floor outside his room. 

There were three items on the ground there, a circlet, a shield, and a broken sword. They were golden and red, adorned with a not that read 

_Our friends are always with us._

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Ruby plopped down onto the stool she used at her workbench in her room. She had finally gotten home after a full day out. What had been promised as breakfast turned into damage control when Nora had spotted an arcade and dragged everyone in to compete in everything. Literally every game there. Still she couldn’t help but admit the day had been great, even if they had gotten banished from a total of three different arcades in Patch. Their dad made a show of being angry but he didn’t ground anyone so she guessed it was alright.

The young girl could not help the grin that spread across her face, it felt great to have friends. And said friends would be super surprised to see this new baby she had. She lifted the covering from the bench that hid her project from prying eyes and admired what she had accomplished. Even one armed Ruby Rose would not be stopped from completing a new weapon.

The design was simple and based off of something she had prototyped before settling on a scythe as her weapon of choice. The design had similar mechashift design to Crescent Rose with the main difference being this was not a scythe but a katana. Ruby had trained in some swordplay at Signal a bit before she started studying under her uncle, Qrow. 

She only had a few touches left till she completed it, a couple of the internal mechanisms needed to be configured and then she needed to paint it. Right now it was all just plain metal colored but soon it would be in her signature color.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these early chapters were written around V5 in the series so Penny's Dad hadn't been introduced yet.


	4. Every Rose Has Thorns

Her breath crystallized in the air in front of her as she once again entered the clearing she use to train in secret. In all honesty it probably wasn’t a secret from Yang but neither her father or sister had been seen here so Ruby considered it one. There was still frost on the ground from the morning making the grass slick beneath her boots. It had taken her a few days but it was finally done, her new weapon was finally ready to be used. Whether it was ready for combat was what she was here to find out.

Ruby looked down at it in her hands, now in it’s compact form. It had similar design concept as Crescent Rose where it folded in on itself for easy storage. Unfortunately she hadn’t been able to add much in any significant way to it. It was very light in her hands and not much bigger than a scroll when stowed like it was. She thumbed the toggle on the side of the hilt, the katana unfolding out into a segmented blade.

The young girl swung it around a bit, going through various forms that she had to wrack her brain to remember. The forms were actually kind of useless because most relied on a two handed style. Ruby just guessed she had to wing it. Basic weapons training still applied and she would get used to the weapon eventually anyways. 

Ruby lowered her torso and bent her legs, bringing the sword down to her opposite hip in a draw stance. Activating her semblance she rushed forwards in a shower of rose petals, appearing at her target in an instant. Keeping with the momentum she slashed diagonally upwards with the blade, cutting through the tree in a single lightning fast slash. By the time she had come to a rest she was several feet beyond the tree and it toppled a moment later. 

A smile crested her face as she jumped up and down, waving her new blade around, giddy with success. If she added her semblance to combat a one-handed sword style she could deliver her strikes and fall back, making up for any shortcomings in her style until she grew more experienced with it. 

For the next hour or so she swung the weapon around at imaginary enemies, trying to get comfortable with her new weapon, trying to attain what she had once had with Crescent Rose. After a while she was panting heavily from the constant exertion, it had been a fairly long time since she had really exercised. But a satisfied grin would not leave her flushed face as she stared lovingly at her new weapon.

“Hmmm, you need a name too.” She leaned against a nearby tree holding the blade before her and letting her eyes wander up and down it, inspecting the various pieces and parts. She went from the segments of the blade to the red spine that served as the back of the blade down to the hilt. “How about Rosepetal?” 

Ruby scrunched her face at the name, that one would not do. She spent several more minutes in silence until one name struck her. Her face lit up with an epiphany as she twirled with the sword in her hands.

“I know just what to name you!”

“Rose Thorn!”

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The door to the living room slammed open in a rush of cold air and rose petals as Ruby Rose swept excitedly into the house. She appeared in a rush in front of her sister who had been standing in the living room apparently having a conversation with Nora and Ren who sat on the couch. She fidgeted in place, brimming with barely contained excitement. It felt like she would burst at the seams as she vibrated with energy. Yang was taken aback for a second but recovered quickly due to her experience with the young girl.

“Yang! Yang! Ya-” Ruby was silenced as her sister cupped her hand over her mouth. 

“Did you even look around you Sis?” Yang smirked at her younger sibling as Ruby blinked and then looked at the four other individuals in the room. Two blondes, a redhead, and a boy with mostly black hair sat in their living room. She froze at the sight of the blonde man in their living room, one who was not their father. 

“Jaune!” With a cry she virtually teleported into the surprised boy’s chest as she tackled him full force with her semblance, “Jaune you’re here! That’s so great! We’re all together now! Oh! You can meet my dad and we can show you around Patch!” Jaune was gasping for air after having the wind knocking out of him followed by Ruby’s death grip of a one armed hug. She continued to ignore his pleas while babbling excitedly about cool stuff she thought they could do now that they were all together. 

Yang grabbed the girl by the hood and with effort dragged her off of the other blonde finally granting him a chance to catch his breath, though that did nothing to stem the tide of words spewing forth from her sister’s mouth. Finally she once more placed her hand over Ruby’s mouthy achieving relative silence as she continued on even muffled. She petered off after a minute when it became clear no one could hear her anymore. 

“Hey Ruby, glad to see you’re doing alright.” Jaune looked her up and down as if to check to see if she was safe. He was her first friend at Beacon and a fellow leader. Them being friends was what had brought their teams together, that and being right across the hall had helped too. As much as the boy would probably deny it, he had helped Ruby just as much as she helped him. Not through anything special that he did but rather what he didn’t do. 

He treated Ruby normally, just another person. Not a kid, not a woman, and most definitely not like a prodigy. At a time when she had been worried about making friends and what others would think of her skipping grades he approached her and treated her like anyone else. He’d done this for Pyyrha too and it was what had sparked the girl’s interest in him in the first place, not that he had noticed. 

With a glint in her eye, Ruby chuckled, “More than alright Jaune, look at my new weapon!” With a flourish she drew Rose Thorn and switched it into sword mode. The compact form unfolded into it’s weapon form and she held it out proudly. Jaune’s mouth hung open as he stared at the red, black, and silver weapon. Nora leaned in closer while making a sound of appreciation and Ren just raised an eyebrow, whatever that meant. Yang didn’t looked nearly so impressed.

“Ruby, why did you make a new weapon?” This reminded the young girl of the real reason she had rushed into making the sword in the first place. It reminded her of the plans her sister and friends had made without her and the smile fell from her lips, though not for the reason Yang thought, “Rubes you don’t need a new weapon right now, you _need_ to focus on learning to live with your arm. It’s not like you’re gonna be fighting any grimm in Patch anyways, you don’t need that”

Seriously? Ruby fumed at her sister. How could Yang say something like that when she planned to leave her here? She had just as much of a reason as her sister to want to go to Haven and find the one responsible for Beacon’s fall. Her sister was overprotective but Ruby knew she could handle herself, she had to. 

“Yeah, Yang, I do. Because I’m coming with you.” The blonde blinked in surprise at both the words and the fierce look directed at her, “I’m not going to sit by and let you leave me here. I’m going with you to Haven.” 

That got everyone’s attention and a guilty look crossed Jaune’s face. Everyone had known about Yang’s decision to leave Ruby out of the trip to Haven and all had agreed that losing an arm was a difficult thing to come to terms with for someone their age and for someone who used a fighting style reliant on two hands like Ruby it would be virtually impossible for her to be able to defend herself. 

“No.” The one word caused the temperature to drop, “You can’t go Ruby. Even with a new weapon, I won’t let you.”

“Why?!”  
  


“Because you’ll just get hurt again! Ruby you will be able to be a huntress, even with your arm this way but it’s going to take time. This is something we need to do _now_ and if we take you with us right now you are liable to die the next time we face Cinder or someone like her. What then? What do you want me to say to Dad?”

Tears brimming Ruby shouted back, “Well what about you then? What happens to Dad if you never come home Yang? We’re _sisters_. We need to look out for one another.” Both girls stood there shaking with pure emotion, the younger sister’s face turned pleading while the older one dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

“I’ll be fine Ruby. You don’t have to worry about me. We’ll be back in no time and you can join us then. I just need you to focus on getting better right now.”

That wasn’t what the young girl wanted to hear. This was not how she thought it would go. Her sister was supposed to be happy to have her along. She felt something ugly churn inside of her, she closed her eyes when she said her next words, “You just want to abandon me because I’m useless now!”

Ruby’s cheek stung, her eyes flying open as a wave of heat roiled across her. She brought a shaking hand up to her cheek, touching the spot that stung. Her silver eyes widened as she looked at Yang whose hand had not lowered yet after the slap. Crimson eyes stared back at her and the air shimmered around the girl’s golden mane.

“How dare…” Yang could barely choke out the words as her chest heaved and she fought to keep from exploding, both literally and figuratively. Ruby realized only now that she had hurt her sister deeply. She knew about Raven, of course, and she knew the blonde had issues around abandonment. Never in a million years would she think the girl would abandon her. Before she knew it Ruby had not only crossed the line but left it far behind. However, when she opened her mouth to take back those words, Yang wouldn’t let her. “So. That’s how you feel.”

The heat died down and crimson turned to lilac once again, the anger extinguished by anguish that rested visibly upon the strong girl’s face. The blonde girl ignored her sister’s attempts to apologize and pushed past the girl, slamming the front door as she left the house. Ruby collapsed to her knees, sniffling apologies to the door. Jaune looked from the door to the crying girl in front of him. 

“Ruby it’ll be fine I’m sure. I know Yang still loves you. I have older and younger sisters so I know how you both feel. Things will be better, you’ll see.” She didn’t say anything other than her mumbled apologies as she turned and clung to him, sobbing on his shoulder. He rubbed a calming hand on her back until she was once again only sniffling before he turned to look at his teammates who nodded their agreement to him.

Nora got up and took his place comforting the young girl while Ren gave him a rare and reassuring smile. With a breath Jaune turned and went out the door. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Yang shivered slightly in the cold evening air. The sun was starting to hang low, edging closer to the horizon. Leaning her head back to rest against the bark of the tree she was perched in she wiped away the last vestiges of her tears. Now she just felt hollow and drained, though the pain was still there. The blond girl loved her sister dearly, she had raised Ruby herself. But the closer you let someone the more they could hurt you and Yang languished in that fact. 

The anger was still there too, smouldering deep down as she attempted to smother it with logic. Her sister didn’t understand she only wanted the best for her. She didn’t know Yang only wanted to protect her. She understood how her sister felt, even if she had only realized it just minutes ago. 

Ruby felt useless now.

It was obvious in hindsight. The small things Ruby would not allow her to do for her. The young girl insisted she do every little thing for herself and not have anyone help. Even if she struggled with one arm the girl was determined to do it on her own. And that was the problem, Yang realized.

Someone called out from below and Yang looked down to find Jaune looking up at her.

“Hey Vomit-boy.” She attempted to smirk at him but it ended halfway through and she just let it drop to lean her head back once again closing her eyes.

“Oh still calling me that huh?” He huffed out as she heard the noise of him struggling to climb the tree next to hers. Cracking an eye open she spied him tentatively settling onto a branch a handful of feet away. When he was situated without having to fear falling out of the tree he addressed her again, “You know Ruby didn’t mean what she said right.”

He continued on through her waving the comment off, “Look I’m not very good at this.” He flushed a little when she scoffed that it was obvious, “But I’m also a brother too Yang. Did you know I have seven sisters? Three older sisters, a twin, and three younger siblings, in fact.”

She stared at him a little slack jawed at that. Seven sisters? She didn’t know what she would do with so many Rubys. No she did, it was a nightmare. He chuckled at her reaction, “Well my older sisters can be a lot like you. Adalaide, the oldest, is super serious as well. She’s like a second mom to all of us. I remember one time she chased Emeraude around the house for an hour after she pranked Raissa by replacing all her books with smut. Not that I ever heard Rai complaining.

“I got pretty protective of Sylvie, who’s fifteen now, when she got her first boyfriend last year. Not that I’m very intimidating, the boy just laughed at my face but she dumped him on the spot for that.” He chuckled as he remembered his family before going quiet and looking at her, “When I came back after Beacon I got the tongue lashing of a lifetime. Even Em was super pissed and Leona wouldn’t let me go, she just clung to me like if she let go I’d just disappear.”

Yang smiled at that, it sounded like he had a good family. She asked the question that would likely follow in this situation, “So how is it they ended up letting you come here?”

He chuckled with a little embarrassment and scratched the back of his head with a finger, “Well Mom was furious but once she was done it was Dad’s turn.” He paled a little bit, “He looked me in the eye and said ‘Son you can’t take back actions. Once you’ve done something it’s done. You ran away from home and even stole Crocea Mors so I only have one question. Was it worth it?’”

“What did you say to him?”

“It was worth it. It was hard but oh so worth it. I found friends and teammates, people I want to be around and protect for the rest of my life. He just sighed at me, called me an idiot and handed me Crocea Mors. Told me it was mine and that I better make sure I didn’t have any regrets. It was a pretty unpopular decision. I spent weeks convincing everyone else I had to go but even then, when I left, everyone was crying.”

He looked to make sure she was paying attention to him, “The thing is Yang I think it’s the same for Ruby. I know you just want to protect her but this is something she’s going to regret, even if she can come along later. It might also have to do with your mom. You told me she died on a mission right? Well she probably thinks you might not come back from this one too.”

A knife twisted in Yangs chest as she heard him say it. Maybe she had know the whole time and didn’t want to acknowledge it but he was right. They were sisters and as much as she wanted to protect Ruby, her sister wanted the same for Yang. However that didn’t change everything, “That makes sense Jaune, but I just can’t take her if she can’t hold her own.”

Jaune looked at her, an uncharacteristically sneaky smile played over his face, “So if she proves she can, she can come right? And if she comes you will be able to keep a better eye on her.” He added when she made to open her mouth in protest.

He had her and she knew it, she wanted to keep her sister safe but she really couldn’t argue with his words, which frustrated her, “When the hell did you get so good at talking Vomit Boy?” Without giving him a chance to reply she leapt down onto the ground where she stretched out, “What’s your idea Jaune?” 

He landed next to her but not quite so gracefully, barely managing not to kiss the dirt, “Well I was thinking I should spar against her. If she can put up a fight against me, the weakest of those who are going, then she won’t be a burden right?

With a curse at his infallible logic Yang started heading back towards the house with the other blonde in tow. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Ruby Rose stood opposite of Jaune Arc in the area outside the back of their house. The match had just begun but instead of rushing at each other the walked around an imaginary perimeter silently studying the other. Jaune was different from the last time they had spar, there was more confidence in his stance and less openings. He obviously hadn’t been slacking since Beacon fell. She tightened her grip on Rose Thorn, bringing to her left hip, imitating a draw position. 

Jaune noticed and raised his shield, holding his sword poised above it, point towards her. Ruby lowered her stance in preparation like a coiled spring. With a sudden burst of movement she released the spring and activated her semblance. Disappearing in a burst of petals she appeared in a moment behind and to his left. His eyes widened having barely followed her movement as she slashed from her maintained position towards his shoulder. 

A clang sounded as he managed to bring the shield around in time to block the speedy slash. With the shield he batted her sword arm away and brought his blade in as a thrust. Ruby ducked low and spun around for an attack at his legs. With a yelp Jaune jumped back to avoid it, creating a few feet of distance between them. The young girl wouldn’t let him maintain his advantage in reach so she rushed in to pressure him. Showering him with fast slashes he barely managed to block them but the speed at which they came prevented him from counter attacking with his own. 

He made a quick decision to charge forward while taking most hits with his shield but a few on his unguarded legs. He relied on his massive aura to tank the blows but still winced at the contact with his shins as he knocked aside Ruby’s guard with his shield and struck out with Crocea Mors. The girl brought her other arm up to block he face but was rewarded with a sharp crack as her head was whipped to the side from Jaune’s strike. She had tried to block with her non existent arm and cursed as she was the one who put distance between them this time. 

Jaune had definitely improved a lot and Ruby could feel how much she wasn’t used to fighting like this. The stinging on her cheek reminded that she had unconscious habits she would need to break but for the short term she needed to at least beat Jaune. Sparing a quick glance to the sidelines her sister stood imperiously next to Ren and Nore with her arms cross and a neutral expression on her face. 

Yang had come back and though Ruby had tried to apologize yet again her sister would have none of it. Instead she said she would bring her along but only if she could beat Jaune in a spar. The younger sister had quickly agreed and thanked the boy for talking Yang into it in the first place. 

Now Ruby was faced against Jaune with a severe handicap and an unfamiliar weapon in hand. Not to mention he had been improving himself since they had parted and this wasn’t going to be an easy fight for her. The only advantages she actually had right now were her speed and that he was used to facing her with her scythe. 

Ruby once again entered her draw stance and sped forward at him but instead of trying to get into his blind spot again she jumped upwards straight at him. Landing on his shield as he brought it up to block sped up again instead of striking. Now she was behind him once again but his shield was wildly out of position as she drew into a slash again. She caught him across his chest when he turned trying to bring his guard into position. He stumbled back at the blow and she rained more upon that spot until he fell down with a cry.

“Enough.” Yang called out from the sidelines. She strode forward to help pull Jaune up. Ruby checked her scroll and their auras were both still in the green. She looked at her sister curiously, _why did she stop the spar early?_

Both of them were panting from the exchanges and what felt like forever had really only been several minutes. The only thing that stopped her from asking what Yang was going to say was the mood her sister was in. She was still upset. That dulled everything quite a bit but she was still hopeful.

Yang spared Ruby a glance, “Dad comes home from his trip to Vale tomorrow. We’re leaving tonight. Do what you want.”

She walked back into the house without another glance and Ruby watched her go. She had gotten what she wanted but why was she so uneasy about it?


	5. A Rose by Any Other Name

“So why are we stopping in Vale tonight?” Yang was the one who asked, not wanting to stop in the city. The five teenagers had entered the city an hour ago by ferry and were now walking around the downtown area. All around Atlas personnel could be seen still assisting with repair and reconstruction. On the horizon stood Beacon Academy with the giant Grimm Dragon perched, frozen, upon the central tower that had once served as Headmaster Ozpin’s office. 

The night was bustling with civilians and a larger than usual amount of huntsmen and huntresses about the streets, weapons in plain view. Mood about town was stressed and as dark as the night they were in. The people of Vale were worried and the hunters overworked in dealing with the constant threat of grimm from the once proud academy. People on the streets barely spared them a second glance, that did not stop Yang from sticking close to Ruby’s left side.

Though the young girl could tell that her sister was still angry with her it didn’t prevent the older girl from obscuring her from unwanted attention. Yang had taken up the vanguard after the first few looks Ruby had gotten after entering Vale, even on the clouded night people noticed her visible disability. The girl had pulled her hood closer around her and her sister had taken notice. 

“By the time we get all of our provision it will be too late to exit the city safely, it’s already dark. I figured we could secure our supplies and head out in the morning.” Jaune replied from the front. He appeared to be leading the way towards a well known huntsman supply shop. He listed off a few more basic supplies they would probably need, from dust ammunition to first aid kits and emergency supplies. The group split up the tasks with Ren and Nora running off to gather the medical supplies and Jaune went off on his own to gather the camping equipment they didn’t have and to grab something he said he had ordered a few days ago. 

That left Ruby alone with her sister to purchase all the dust ammunition they needed. Yang led the way to the shop they both frequented when they attended Beacon, a small place run by a nice, but gruff, looking guy. The young girl trailed several steps behind, mind churning to find a way to apologize for the things she had said before. Every time she brought it up her blond sister had either changed the subject somehow or completely ignored her. 

It had been an unusually long time for Yang to hold a temper, she was quick to anger but it usually burned itself out fast and she was back to her smiling self. Ruby’s shoulder bumped into her sister and she noticed the blonde had slowed down too. Pulling her hood down further over her face she hid a bitter smile. How like her sister to notice something like that and slow down for her, even when angry. The thought made her want to shed more tears but instead she took several deep breaths and started walking next to Yang, forcing some confidence into her steps. 

They rounded a corner and walked into the old shop, Ruby sparing at the familiar nam above the door _Armamento Mori._ The whole reason they had started coming here was because Yang had loved the name though her sister could never understand her fascination with puns. The bell dinged to let the owner know he had customers and within a few moments he appeared out of the back room grumbling and wiping his hands before breaking into a wide smile at seeing who was patronizing his shop.

“Well if it isn’t Yang and Ruby!” He spread his arms wide, “My shop’s been boring without seeing your pretty faces around here!”

Yang laughed easily past the old banter, “Hey Kal. We’ve been home at Patch.” He nodded along as the young woman explained what they needed and how much. He had always been amicable with them, always saying how much they reminded him of his own daughters. In particular, he was fond of Ruby and always gave her a discount on cartridges for Crescent Rose. 

He noticed that Yang had missed something and leaned to the side to address the red cloaked girl standing off looking through some high velocity rounds on display, “Ruby, don’t you need ammo fer your scythe?” The shop owned stopped dead when she turned to him and he got a full sight of what he had missed before, she was missing her left arm and her signature weapon was nowhere in view. 

One didn’t run a business supplying hunters by being stupid, the man could tell what had happened even as the question died on his through. Kal’s eyes grew sorrowful knowing of what must have happened to a young girl old enough to be his daughter. 

Yang came to her rescue as Ruby just stood there floundering under his gaze, “As you can see she’s switched weapons so unfortunately we don’t need more sniper rounds but I do need those shells for Ember Celica and the cases of grenade canisters.” She gave him a winning smile and he took it, knowing better than to push into someone’s privacy. 

The girls left the shop after a bit of small talk and getting their supplies, they walked back out onto the street waving back at the man behind the counter. Yang slung her pack over her shoulder, the rounds inside making noise as they jostled around. She started walking and Ruby followed, they were back to not speaking.

The young girl moved her hand to her left shoulder and looked at the figure walking in front of her. The comforting back of her sister that had always been there for her, one she was more familiar with than even her own mother. She couldn’t bear it anymore. Yang was her sister and they shouldn’t be like this. Before she realized it she had reached out and grabbed the blonde’s sleeve. The woman stopped and turned her head to the side, not looking directly at her younger sister but making it clear she had her attention. 

“Yang. I really need to say I’m sorry. Those things I said. I didn’t mean them.” Ruby gritted her teeth and fought against the tears welling up in her eyes, “I was frustrated and scared. I still am scared Yang. I’ve lost Mom. I’ve lost a part of me. I can’t lose you too! As useless as I am now I don’t want to be sitting at home doing nothing while you put yourself in danger.”

Ruby barely heard her sister’s reply, “You won’t lose me Ruby.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep!” The younger girl’s voice peaked into a shout. Passerbys stopped and listened and even a few Atlas soldiers we noticing, one of them talking into a radio. Ruby didn’t notice any of her surroundings as the flood gates opened and she spewed forth her feelings, “Mom made that same promise and I still remember the day they came to tell us she died! I may have been too young to remember much of her but I remember that.”

Ruby rested her forehead on her sister’s back, “I’m so scared you won’t come back.” Her voice finally gave out but it looked like it was enough to reach her sister. Slowly she turned around and wrapped her in a gentle embrace. Unable to tell which of them was shaking, she reached around and hugged her sister back with her one good arm. 

Yang stroked her sister’s head in the middle of the sidewalk and whispered to her, “I’m sorry too Ruby. I was so focused on protecting you I guess I didn’t see how much I was hurting you. Everything will be fine. We’ll stick together and see this through. I won’t let you get hurt. I’ll always be here Rubes.”

The red-cloaked girl could only nod, only too relieved to have her sister talking to her again. Yang wiped the tears on her sister’s face and suggested they go get some cookies on they way to the meeting point with everyone. This time they walked side by side and Ruby let a small smile spread over her face.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Taiyang came home to an empty house in the morning. He had read through the note left behind on Ruby’s bed for the fourth time in the last thirty minutes. This was not the day he had been hoping for but it was something that would have happened sooner or later. He knew his daughters and knew they would run off to do what they felt they had to, whether he agreed or not was a different matter. They were both so much like their mothers that it hurt him, yet filled him with pride. Each day they reminded him of the women he loved with all his heart.

A sigh escaped him as he leaned back on the couch. Even with Raven’s betrayal he still felt love for the woman, as much as she had changed. Yang was so much like her, from her looks to her drive, the young girl could be an unstoppable force like her mother had been when they were younger. Ruby retained all of Summer’s innocent, if not naive, beliefs in heroes and justice. Taiyang had seen the look in her eyes, the one she tried to hide from everybody, but he knew it.

Ruby knew fear, terror even. He still remembered those nights where she had screamed in her sleep. Neither he nor Yang had the heart to tell the girl, instead they both had just taken turns being with her when she had the night terrors. It was hard not to flinch every time she whispered the names of the friends she had lost.

Footsteps sounded behind him as Qrow walked around to stand in front of him, one hand behind his back as if it was checking for something, “Don’t worry Tai, I’ll keep ‘em safe in your place since… well… you know.”

“Yeah, I know Qrow.” Taiyang looked his old friend in the eyes and never had he regretted something more than he had that moment, “Protect them for the both of us man.”

Qrow simply nodded and then stepped outside and was gone in a flash of feathers. Taiyang gripped the edge of the sofa so hard his fingers started puncturing the fabric. 

* * *

  
  


Ruby was just getting up when a knock sounded on the door, knowing that any of her teammates would just come in she went back to her early morning weapon maintenance. The knocks continued again, more insistant, and Yang tossed a pillow in her sister’s direction before promptly returning to sleep. With an exasperated sigh she got up and answered the door, knowing her big sister wouldn’t bother getting up for anyone for at least another hour. 

On the other side of the door was a mousy man in a military uniform standing ramrod straight with his arms clasped behind his back. Ruby’s looked around in confusion as the man cleared his throat before speaking, “I am looking for one Miss Ruby Rose. Are you she?”

“Who wants to know?” Yang answered for her having been out of bed and glaring at the man at their door before Ruby could blink.

“Lieutenant Del Moriss, Atlas Military. I currently serve as aide to General Ironwood for the duration of his stay in Vale during the reconstruction efforts. I’m here because the General has requested Miss Rose’s presence.”

“Um, why?” Ruby asked, though she had met the man she couldn’t say they knew each other. 

“The General did not specify, Ma’am, I’m sure he would be able to answer any questions you have in person. He did, however, make it clear this was only a request.”

Ruby wasn’t sure how to respond. On one hand she didn’t want to go meet someone who knew Qrow because she wasn’t exactly supposed to be leaving Patch, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to say no to an authority figure. Yang must have noticed because she put a hand on her sister’s shoulder, “We will both go. Is that fine?” 

The man merely nodded and proceeded to wait in the hallway as the girls got ready. On their way out they messaged the others of their team that they would be going out for a bit and to not worry if they were not back for a while. Jaune and Ren shot back a few messages asking what they were doing and expressing their concern but were soon assuaged by Yang’s replies. Nora only asked for some souvenirs. 

They arrived at General Ironwood’s makeshift headquarters after a half hour trip by car. The building was several stories tall and showed signs of being recently rebuilt. They were led to a waiting room where Ruby sat fiddling with the hem of her skirt and Yang was tapping her foot impatiently even though they had only been there a few minutes. It wasn’t long before the General stepped out to greet them.

“Miss Xiao-Long, Miss Rose. It’s good to see you both in decent health. Please step inside my office so we can talk.” He ushered them into his temporary office and into the seets opposite his desk.

“Just to make sure, neither of you are in trouble here. I just saw an opportunity to fulfill a promise I made, as well as let a friend of mine meet the both of you. He was eager to meet you, Miss Rose.” He steepled his fingers after sitting down, his stern face doing his best attempt to smile. 

“Uh, yeah, I’d like to know how you knew where we were, General. No disrespect but it isn’t the Atlas military’s job to keep tabs on teenage girls, unless there’s something you aren’t telling us?” Yang let the accusation hang in the air as the General coughed awkwardly.

“No, Miss Xiao-Long it is not, I assure you. I only happened to hear you were in Vale because some soldiers noticed your…. public display yesterday and so I took the chance to find you so I could ask you here. I like to keep my promises.”

“What promise?” It was Ruby who spoke up this time, looking at the older man, trying not to wilt under his naturally heavy gaze. 

He chuckled, “Your Uncle and I have known one another for a long time. But this isn’t a favor, Miss Rose, you earned this all on your own.”

Just before either girl could give voice to their confusion the door to the office was flung open and an exuberant old man burst through, “James! I came as fast as I could! Where is she?” He stopped even as he asked the question when he noticed the two young girls who had turned to face the newcomer. The man’s lab coat was dirtied with blues and blacks but the smile on his face showed no fatigue as he rushed around to grab Ruby’s hand.

“Salutations Miss Rose! I am so glad you are here. I just completed the project yesterday, I’m sure you will be quite happy with it!” He kept shaking her hand with both of his until a pointed cough from the General made him pause and look between Ruby and her sister, their faces both showing not a shred of understanding. “My apologies!” He suddenly decried, “Where are my manners. I am Doctor Geppetto Polendina. I am Penny’s creator and father.”

Everything was going too fast for Ruby to process it but the final bit about Penny got her attention. She stared at him, marveling at how like the robotic girl this old man was, or was it the other way around? Either way a small but comfortable feeling settled in her stomach and she calmed down a fair bit while the man was still going on about some project and how excited he was that she was here until Yang interrupted him. 

“Okay Doc no offense but what the hell is going on and why the hell are we here?”

Geppetto immediately looked up and over at the General, dropping Ruby’s hand finally, “You haven’t told them James?”

“I figured you would want to Gepetto.”

“Any time here guys.” Yang was getting increasingly annoyed at being ignored.

The Doctor smiled apologetically at her and then looked at Ruby, “Sorry Miss Xiao-Long. You see, last week I came to Vale for the General to work on an urgent project. This project, while not in my main area of expertise, was something I desired to contribute to. Miss Rose you were a friend of Penny’s, yes?” 

After receiving her nod he continued, “Well Penny always talked about you, you know? She loved you, a friend, and asked repeatedly if she could be transferred to Beacon.” He laughed at the memory, “I couldn’t let her but it was amazing how much knowing you helped her, Miss Rose, because every day she spent with you made her more human than I could have ever dreamed. You made her happy. I wanted to thank you for that and for being her friend.”

Ruby felt a twisting in her heart at hearing what her friend had felt for her, it made her miss the girl all the more now that she was gone. The Doctor noticed and smiled kindly at her when she found words to her thoughts, “Penny was a really good friend and she was super nice. It was a pleasure to have known her. And I wish she was still here.”

A small flash of grief flickered across his face but it was gone in a moment, “Me too, Miss Rose. Anyways the point is Penny wouldn’t want her friend suffering so that’s why I am here. With the subject of my research being aura based robotics James reached out to me to create something for you. I came as soon as I could and, based partly on prototypes for Penny, crafted a prosthetic for you to use.”

A small glimmer of hope blossomed into excitement as she realized exactly what it was she was saying. She jumped out of her chair, “A cool robot arm?! Really?” She looked at the General who merely nodded and added that she had earned it, “That’s so awesome! You’re so cool Doctor!” She hugged him suddenly and Geppetto was taken aback before she pulled away sheepishly only now realizing she had hugged someone she had just met. Even embarrassment couldn’t stop her happiness as she nearly vibrated with excitement. 

That excitement only grew as they were lead through the building to Doctor Polendina’s makeshift workshop. It was cluttered and messy but Ruby couldn’t help but admire some of the advanced tools laying out, precision instruments she could only dream of getting her hands on. The young weapons nut imagined all sorts of weapons that she could make with just what was here in his workshop.

There, centered on the counter, was a prosthetic arm gleaming a silver color upon a mount. The Doctor pulled a stool up next to the counter as he sat down in the other stool, he motioned for her to sit down. Yang stood arms crossed by the door and the General had been unable to come with due to some other things requiring his attention. When Ruby tentatively sat down the Doctor had her roll her sleeve up over he stump so he could at the socket placed there. 

Geppetto hummed after inspecting it for a moment and then picked up a ring-like piece that was sitting near the arm. He slipped it over the socket before grabbing a tool to adjust it. Ruby winced at the pinching sensation on her stump as he twisted the driver until the mounting bracket was secure on the socket. He picked up the arm and turned to address her, “Okay Miss Rose, this arm is unlike any others because it was made to channel aura. Honestly it’s a first time application of this technology so I have no idea how this is going to feel. Once I mount this it’s going to be able to channel your aura just like a normal arm, and unlike other prosthetics currently on the market, it uses that aura as a power source. So it should respond naturally to you.”

Ruby could only manage a nod, extending her severed arm out to him to signal she had heard him. Slowly he fit the arm onto the mounting bracket until it clicked into place. When he let go of it the arm didn’t fall, instead it remained where it was before Ruby started moving it. She started with the digits, clasping the hand into a fist and then stretching out the fingers, even wiggling them. With a giggle she started moving her new arm around in front of her testing the arm’s range of movement.

It felt natural and wasn’t heavy, the more she moved it the less she had to consciously think about it. The doctor went on to explain a few of the functions and even had her test one out. The forced decoupling could eject the arm at a good speed and Ruby squealed as the arm shot off across the room and Yang stood there with a look that said she dreaded what her sister would do with such power. The younger sister looked up at her, sparkles dancing in her eyes.

“Yang I need paint.”


	6. The Feast and the Fool

Rose Thorn cut through another Beowolf as Ruby shot past it’s now dissolving corpse and bounced from one enemy to another, severing limbs and heads alike. The familiar sounds of her sister’s weapons came from not too far off in the trees and Ren could be seen cutting down an Ursa that Jaune was occupying. All around her a small war raged as the hunters in training systematically destroyed the Grimm standing in their path. 

Hurriedly they progressed onwards towards their objective, staying close enough to see each other and help when needed, but far enough not to interfere with anyone else’s attacks. After a few dozen minutes they made it to the quarry where they spotted a beleaguered huntress beset upon by a pack of Beowolves with Ursa scrambling around the narrow edges towards them. She was protecting the group of miners and could not fight well and keep them safe at the same time.

Ruby reached for Crescent Rose but berated herself for forgetting she no longer had it with her, instead she raced down towards the civilians as fast as she could. Yang called out for her to wait but it was too late and she was gone in a burst of rose petals. With a curse her sister started out after with the other three close on her heels. None dared fire their weapons in case they hit the miners by accident. 

Every time the huntress felled a Grimm, another took it’s place. She was tired and it looked like she had been at it for far longer than she should have. Her spear tip blazed and a high pitched keening sound could be heard from over the din of melee. Quantity had a quality all it’s own and even though the huntress felled the various grimm with ease their numbers hardly diminished and soon she would be overrun. 

Ruby blew through the pack with her katana slashing and skidded to a halt next to the huntress, her blade held out in defense of those now behind her. With a reinforcement next to her and a force now attacking the back of the group besieging her the huntress found her second wind and began attacking with renewed vigor. 

The young, cloaked girl slashed and parried the incoming Beowolf only to gasp in surprise when the red haired huntress’ weapon burst through the skull of the creature. The brightly flaming spear tip danced around the battle dealing death with every pin point accurate strike. Ruby almost forgot herself staring at the weapon before a growl lurched her back to her own predicament just in time to dodge the swipe of another grimm. 

Not thirty minutes passed before the last creature fell to the defenders who panted heavily from the extended battle. The keening noise stopped from the woman’s spear and the fire faded from it. Ruby eyed the weapon with a gleam, the haft was the same vibrant red as it’s owner’s hair while the speartip seemed to not be made of metal. 

The huntress sat down on a nearby crate, resting her weapon against her shoulder as she eyed the newcomers gratefully, “Thanks for coming when you did. Never seen that many grimm in a pack like that, not out here on the frontier at least. The name’s Scarlet Cromwell. Mind if I ask what yer doin’ out here?”

“We received the local distress call on our scrolls when we were passing nearby. We rushed to your aid as soon as we could.” Ren was the one who answered first as the others were busy catching their breath. Scarlet flashed a smile and thanked them again. The miners were busy loading up some transports and treating the wounded.

“Well I’m lucky you bunch showed up. Why don’t ya come with us to Verde Vista? It’s just an hours ride away and I wanna thank you guys.” 

The idea of staying under a roof was an enticing once and the group quickly agreed and started helping load up the vehicles. The sooner they were on their way the sooner they could clean up, a hot shower was enough to make their knees weak and Yang yelled out dibs on it before anyone else. All the while Scarlet laughed loudly at them and proclaiming how much they were like her old team. 

They traded questions back and forth on the way back to Scarlet’s town. They found out that she was the only huntress in the town she asked them about the state of Vale. News was scarce around the kingdom now that the CCT was down and they traded information. The older huntress invited them to stay at her place for a night and they readily agreed. Ruby kept pestering the woman about her weapon, getting her to brag about it’s functions. 

The younger girl kept her robotic hand firmly clasped onto her other wrist while she talked with Scarlet and that did not escape the notice of her older sister who was watching out of the corner of her eye. The blonde filed it away as something to keep an eye on but not worth asking about yet. 

Yang had been worried about her sister’s first real combat after leaving Vale. The prosthetic was now painted red and black, Ruby’s colors, and matched her typical outfit so well it almost blended in perfectly. The elation of having a piece of advanced technology attached to her hadn’t faded until the second day after they left Vale. The other’s reactions had been typical. Nora went on about how the young girl was a cyborg with Ren correcting her futilely. Jaune had eaten his foot with some comment about it being barely noticeable that had earned him a few looks that made him look away. 

They arrived in town to cheering and cries of relief. The miners stepped off the transports and hugged their families. Ruby beamed in pride at this, it was why she had wanted to be a huntress. It was an addictive feeling as she was thanked by another woman glad their husband was home. A father carrying his daughter offered his thanks for saving his wife. The rest of her team was getting the same treatment until Scarlet started scowling at the crowd and ushering the young team towards her house, which, as it turned out, doubled as a tailor. 

The entire second floor was her home and she explained that when she wasn’t performing her huntress duties she tailored clothes. Verde Vista was close enough to Vale that grimm were few in number and she needed something to do or the boredom would kill her. 

“Alright kiddos, Mayor Puck says the feast will be at sundown in the town proper so you’ve got about two hours to rest and clean up.”

Nora perked up immediately, “Feast?”

“We didn’t do anything to hold a feast over, did we?” Ruby asked the senior huntress. 

Scarlet chuckled, “No, no. The feast ain’t for you guys. It’s to create positivity. Grimm are attracted to negativity right? So when shit like this goes down we gotta spread some cheer around. Gonna be a grand event. So clean up an’ have some fun. You’ll be the center of attention. Maybe even a few cute daughters looking to be impressed.” The last comment was addressed with a wink at Jaune who flushed and looked away which earned him a cackle from both Scarlet and Yang who high-fived each other.

Ruby pulled her hood over her head, she did not want to be the center of attention, though she had to admit she was curious as to what the event would look like. 

She tried to ignore the twinge of pain in her left wrist.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Jaune was in the middle of staring at his food decidedly not looking at the giggling girls his own age trying to catch his attention across the plaza. They were outside and the feast was in full swing, lots of delicious food laid out. Scarlet had been right when she said they would be the center of attention. Nora was a hit with the kids as she told tale after tale of vicious grimm and daring heroism, an exasperated Ren tried to correct her but gave up when it seemed no one was listening. Ruby had turned to Scarlet and was discussing weapons with the huntress. 

Jaune didn’t understand it all but apparently her spear, Tiene Dawn, combined gravity dust and flame dust to create a very dense and hotter than fire that wasn’t quite fire. The spear tip wasn’t metal either but a hardened, heat resistant ceramic. Ruby was over the moon at just that and went on to ask questions about how she kept the spear wreathed with the fire that wasn’t quite fire, Jaune thought they called it plasma. It had gotten over his head a long time ago and so he had just resigned himself to eating the good food. The village reminded him of his own, there were the same kind of friendly people in every place on the frontier. 

Yang plopped down onto the bench seat right next to him with her back against the table. She leaned her head back to look at him, “Hey lady killer I couldn’t help but notice your adoring fans. Why don’t you go say hello?”

“What and ruin my mysterious image of a dashing hunter by opening my mouth? I think not.” This got a snort out of the blonde. She looked at him seriously for a second.

“I don’t think I properly thanked you Jaune.”

The teen turned and looked at her, confused, “For what?”

“For what you said in Patch, idiot.” She punched him lightly in the shoulder before staring out at the sky that was just getting dark enough that stars could be visible, “And for throwing that spar.”

Jaune nearly choked and looked at her with a question of how she had known written all over her face and her shit eating grin said it had been the whole time, “Look I know she wasn’t at her best but you did prove your point, but I stopped it because I couldn’t take any more of your bad acting.”

The blonde boy hung his head, “Please don’t tell Ruby.” She laugh and reached out, turning is head to look at him.

“I won’t. I know exactly how that’d go down. Besides the point wasn’t a win at all. You wanted to show me that Ruby was ready to pick up, get up, and try again. If I denied her that I’d be hurting her more in the long run. So yeah, thanks for that. I’d give you a reward but I don’t think your adoring fans would appreciate it.” Yang patted his cheek with a wink.

His face flushed and he stammered, “Is it really necessary to tease me like that?”

“Oh come on lady killer, I’d be so bored if you weren’t around to tease. You make it so fun.” She flashed a toothy smile right back at his face and laughed again when he looked away. He wished she didn’t take so much enjoyment in eliciting a response like that from him. Yang had always teased him but it had always been from something of a distance. He was her sister’s friend and that was it. But now they were all on a journey together as a single team and her teasing had ascended to a new level. 

Jaune may have lived with two other women, who weren’t family, for half a year but he was still not so used to women that Yang’s overly flirtatious teasing didn’t affect him. The girl started swiveling her head back and forth, searching the crowd. A frown spread across her face as she sat up straighter, “Hey Jaune have you seen Ruby lately?”

“Hm? Yeah she was talking with Sca-” He stopped mid-sentence when he looked over and found the huntress but no Ruby beside her, “Well she  _ was  _ talking to Scarlet about her weapon. That was the last I saw her.” 

With a hum of acknowledgement Yang got up and told him she was going to go find her sister. Silently thanking Ruby for saving him from her sister Jaune went back to his dish, which was some kind of sliced potatoes in a cheesy sauce. Just as he was about to finish it a new voice spoke up.

“You two seemed close.” Jaune groaned inwardly as he looked up to see the same grin plastered on Scarlet’s face. It appeared the two were more similar than it first appeared. He hadn’t noticed when the older huntress had sat down across from him. She was wearing the same black tank top and combat pants as when they had first met. They showed off the various tattoos that ran from her shoulders down to her hands. 

She couldn’t have been older than thirty and from the conversation on the way back to Verde Vista he knew she was a Beacon alumni. Her green eyes shined and he could just tell she loved gossip. 

“Yang likes to tease. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“That’s not what I saw~” Scarlet said in a singsong voice, “I saw a girl staking her territory.”

Now it was Jaune’s turn to laugh, the woman didn’t know Yang like he did. There was no interest there. None at all. And he told her so.

“Oh please, I’ve seen your type before. Probably to busy in self doubt to tell if a girl might be interested until it’s too late right? Well guess what boyo, those girls eying you earlier? They bounced the moment she had her hand on your cheek. Make of it what you will but I’d be willing to bet she was making sure no one got close.”

Could she? Jaune wondered,  _ she was being more personal than she ever had before _ . The blonde shook his head to dispel doubts. He was sure that if she really did do that on purpose it wasn’t out of any kind of interest. She probably just didn’t want a friend being taken advantage of. 

Scarlet continued to pester him about his love life until he changed the subject to his sisters and she became enraptured in stories about a home with eight children. Jaune in particular enjoyed talking about his sisters, he was proud of all of them and loved showing it. 

* * *

  
  


Ruby sat on the floor with her back against the wall her teeth grit against the burning pain flushing through her nonexistent left arm. She had taken her prosthetic off and laid in down next to her, her hand gripped her stump trying in vain to lessen it. It had started as a little itch and then turned into something where it was all she could do to cry out. Though the doctors had warned her this could happen this was far more than she had thought it would be. 

The young girl repeatedly took deep breaths very grateful that no one else was here, especially her sister. When she had begun having trouble dealing with the pain Scarlet had told her she should probably go to bed if she had an early day on the morrow. How the woman had noticed when Ruby was hiding it so well she didn’t know but took the excuse to be alone. She couldn’t afford to trouble the others with it.

At last the pain abated and Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow. She hadn’t realized how hot she felt. Reaching out the young girl slotted her robotic arm back in place, flexing it as she did so. It was still hard to believe she had been given something so incredible. It almost felt like nothing had happened in the first place but the clod metal was a constant reminder of her failure atop the tower. 

Her sister popped her head in, “Hey Rubes, missed you at the party.”

“Sorry Yang, I was feeling tired. It’s been a long day and I wanted to get an early day tomorrow.” Ruby smiled at her sister, leave it to the her to notice the small things.

“Yeah, I thought you looked tired on the way to town.” A strange look passed over her for a moment before she changed to a smirk, “I saw some girls checking Jaune out. He’s surprisingly popular.”

Ruby’s head shot up and looked at her sister and then realized she was caught before she immediately pulled her hood over her head , Yang crooned, “Why so interested sister of mine?”

“‘M not.” 

“Oh please Ruby, of course you’d be interested. He’s nice, friendly, one of your first guy friends. I’d be worried about you if you  _ didn’t  _ have an interest.”

“But Pyrrha…” Ruby curled up. Embarrassed and now sad. She had had some maybe not really feelings for Jaune but it was plain as day how his partner felt and the only one who didn’t see it was the guy himself. 

“Don’t worry about it Ruby. You guys will grieve. Let it run it’s course and if you feel like something might be there, go for it.” With some chuckles her sister bid her good night and ruffled her head a bit. 

Now Ruby was alone with her thoughts as she once again looked at her new hand. 

The metal hand was a reminder of what she had lost. Her friends killed by that monster, and how she had failed to save them. Every time she closed her eyes she could see Pyyrha’s face full of shock at the arrow lodged in her chest and she could remember the moment Penny was torn to pieces just to prove a point. That monster was still out there plotting to do the same to more people. 

Slowly the metal digits curled into a fist. 

Ruby promised herself not to fail again.


	7. Hot Chocolate

Yang wondered how it had come to this as she walked through the new town their group had come to. It had taken them just over a week to get to this town from Verde Vista. It was a hub town located halfway between Vale and the port closest to Mistral, their destination. The hub town was called Abelia and was a central supply route for smaller towns like Verde Vista. It was important for trade and therefore had many more amenities than most other towns they had passed through since leaving Vale. 

Ruby had run off to the arcade with Nora, both of them showing explosive amounts of enthusiasm. Ren was dragged along once again leaving Yang laughing at how inseparable they were, but that had left her and Jaune with nothing to do. For about the fifth time Yang told herself she should have just gone along but truth be told she didn’t really like arcades. If she wanted fun she’d find a club, or a fight. 

Yang just started wandering aimlessly around the shopping district with Jaune following her like a puppy. She had tried several times to suggest he didn’t have to follow her and could go do what he wanted but he just refused and said he had nothing with that idiotic and dense smile of his. The guy couldn’t take a hint unless it jumped up and punched him in the face and even then she was sceptical. 

Desperate not to keep aimlessly doing nothing she spotted a small cafe that looked pretty decent. Yang got a surprise when she entered, it catered to hunters. There were a few weapon racks scattered near the tables but still out of the way and the walls were decorated with pictures of what she could only assume was the proprietor and many different hunters that had given him custom, Qrow was in one even. _He drinks something other than alcohol?_

Sitting at one of the tables alone was a girl that Yang was somewhat familiar with. The girl was dressed fashionably with a black beret on her head and dark sunglasses even indoors. Coco Adel looked up from the magazine she was considering and did a double take at who had come through the door. One corner of her mouth turned upwards as she downturned her glasses to fix the blonde pair with her brown eyes.

“If it isn’t Xiao-Long and Arc. A strange pair to walk into my cafe. Come on sit down.” She patted the table and it definitely wasn’t a request. Still, though, Yang was kind of glad to see the girl. They hadn’t really seen anyone since the Fall so the sight of their senior in good health put the blonde girl into a good mood as soon as she stopped gaping like an idiot. 

“Coco! It’s good to see you. What are the chances of meeting you here.” Yang sat to the girl’s right and Jaune nervously took a seat next to the blonde but farther from Coco. Noticing it she turned to the poor boy.

“I’m not gonna bite, Arc. Unless you want me to.” With a groan Jaune hid his face in his hands and both girls started cackling. Yang had always known she would get along well with her senior. 

“So, Coco what brings you here? You alone?” The blonde girl leaned back and balanced her chair on it’s back legs. 

“This is my hometown. And no I’m not alone. Bun-bun is here too. In fact, “ Coco looked around and then, finding her furry eared target, shouted, “Hey Bun can I get three of the usual over here?” 

Within minutes Velvet came over with three steaming mugs of what could only be hot chocolate when Yang smelled it. The faunus was dressed in a uniform with a black pleated skirt, white blouse and black corset with a brown apron over it. She let out a surprised gasp at who she was serving. Of course she knew Coco was here but she hadn’t expected the two blondes to stop by. And it was an unusual combination regardless.

“Yang? And…. John?” She let out a squeak when Jaune’s face hit the table and Coco guffawed and Yang corrected her in between her laughing fits. Velvet’s face went red and she started apologizing to the boy profusely ignoring him telling her it was fine. They hadn’t ever really interacted before. 

“Man you two picked a helluva time to come to Abelia for a date. But I never really thought you two’d hook up. Guess I owe Yats some lien.”

Yang nearly choked on her drink, “No, no, no, no. We’re here as a group. Rubes, Ren, and Nora are out at an arcade. Jaune and I just figured we’d check out this place cuz we had nothing better to do. Nothin’ more to it Coco.”

Coco just fixed her with a look of not buying it but decided not to push anything due to Jaune looking like he’d die if anything more was said. They shifted to catching up with what everyone was doing since Beacon. Yatsuhashi had gone to his home village and Fox was helping at the orphanage he had been raised at. Velvet and Coco had decided to go around Vale then go visit Yatsuhashi. 

Velvet was working at the cafe in order to get some travel expenses. Coco was apparently set from her modeling gig for hunter fashion. So while visiting Coco’s hometown she had used her connections to get the faunus a decent job. According to the fashionista, her partner was quite popular and she had had to literally beat some guys off of her. It was one of the main reasons why she was frequenting the cafe. 

Finally the conversation had turned to what they were doing in Abelia. Yang had no problem telling her their real objective. Coco sighed and took her glasses off, looking them both in the eyes. Velvet had long since gone back to her job and it was just the three of them, “Shit, so that’s what happened.”

Her eyes as she looked down at her hands, “I had friends who died during the Fall and that bitch is the one who’s really responsible? Think you’ll find her?”

Yang shrugged, “Can’t say for sure. This was something Cinder was planning for a long time. Maybe she covered her tracks but we will find out for sure, that’s a fact.”

Coco nodded at her, “So what did she want?”

“Dunno. None of the adults could, or would, tell me anything. Jaune told me it had something to do with a woman in the basement of Beacon and it involved Pyyrha but other than that, no clue. What she wanted doesn’t matter anyways. Only that Cinder dies.” Yang’s eyes shifted scarlet as she thought of the person who had killed her friend and maimed her sister. 

Coco reached into her bag and pulled out a card, “Here’s my scroll info. You need help with that bitch, call me. I’ll help. Nobody fucks with me or my friends.” Looking the both of them in the eyes she got a nod from Jaune and Yang. Putting her glasses on, Coco stood up, putting the lien for the drinks on the table.

“I gotta go see a guy about some clothes. See you, Yang. See you around Arc.” With a wink and a blown kiss the girl strode out of the cafe leaving the two feeling like they had just encountered a tornado.

“Well that was a thing.” Yang managed to say after a few minutes. Jaune could only nod along. The blonde girl had a complicated feeling in her chest. People had died and she had only thought about her friends. She only wanted revenge for Ruby and Pyyrha. Not for a second had she thought about all the other people who had died. The Atlas soldiers whose lives were lost to their own weapons or the faunus killed by the group that supposedly fought for their rights.

Thinking about it now, it made her sick. It was beyond just evil. Cinder had orchestrated chaos on such a scale that the smoke was still settling and everyone was pointing fingers anywhere but at her. A hand touched her arm and she looked over to see a concerned Jaune. She un-clenched her fists and took a deep breath. 

“Hey Yang, let’s go to that arcade. I’m feeling kind of up for it now.” It was a transparent attempt to get her mind off of her current track but she gratefully accepted the excuse. She needed to do something, anything. 

  
  
  


“I thought you said you didn’t like arcade’s Jaune.” Yang grumbled as the boy proceeded to trounce her at the dancing game they were playing. 

“Only because of how many times my sisters dragged me to the one back home. They only stopped after they couldn’t beat me anymore.” He laughed at her as he got a perfect score at the song. Yang’s competitive edge flared up as she pushed another coin in the slot and chose a harder song. Now she just wanted to see him mess up. 

Towards the conclusion of the song she was just barely behind and getting desperate. A quick glance to the side and Jaune was concentrating on the screen so she reached over and poked him in the side. With a yelp he messed up and lost his combo allowing Yang to secure a victory at last.

“You cheated!”

“All’s fair in love and war, vomit boy.” She smirked at him as they sat down at one of the tables in the food court. Surprisingly it was pretty fun playing arcade games like this. Usually it was just her destroying Ruby but with a challenging opponent like Jaune she could really let go. It was a shame that they had not found the others there. 

“Well as long as you feel good then fine.” She laughed at his pouting expression. When he wasn’t busy being an awkward teen he was pretty fun, Yang thought. The guy certainly knew how to keep boredom away, a side effect from having so many sisters, she supposed. 

“Well thank’s you’ve helped me out again, Jaune. Any more and I might just fall for you. Why I do believe you are one stuffed bear away from a kiss.” She couldn’t keep a straight face and ended up laughing. He really was too much fun to tease. 

“You really have to tease me that much Yang?” He looked away from her and she grinned viciously, sliding across the bench and putting an arm around his shoulders.

“What’s wrong Jaune? Hoping I’m serious?” Not getting the sputtering denial she was expecting when he remained silent she straightened up. Before she could say anything else a loud voice rang out. 

“I found them! They were having a date and forgot to invite me!”

“That’s not how date’s work Nora.”  
  


Ren and Nora were walking over with the red head exuberantly waving her hand at them over her head. And Ruby came around the corner and spotted them, Yang with one arm around Jaune, and froze. 

* * *

  
  


James Ironwood waited patiently outside of Jacques Schnee’s office in Schnee Manor. He was quite familiar with the place, having had constant dealing with the man for well over a decade now. But the one he was waiting for now wasn’t the patriarch but rather the youngest daughter of the Schnee household.

The door opened and Weiss exited the office with a pained expression on her face. James figured it was probably a common one for her when she had to enter her father’s office. It was probably his fault for the man’s sour mood and he wasn’t keen on how he had taken it out on her. 

“Miss Schnee….Weiss. How are you doing?”

Her back instantly straightened and all emotion wiped from her face in a moment as she curtsied, “General, I am doing well here at home. Though I do worry about my friends. I had heard you were in Vale up until last week.” 

He could sense the question she wanted to ask and smiled at the young girl. She had grown so much in such a short time at Beacon. She had opened her eyes more and become her own person, not merely a pawn of Jacques. 

“Weiss, while I could not confirm the location of Miss Belladonna, Miss Xiao-Long and Miss Rose are both doing well. In fact I had the pleasure of seeing the both of them several weeks ago, before I left Vale.”

She couldn’t hide her happiness at the mention that her injured teammates had recovered, “You spoke with Ruby?!” She covered her mouth with her hand and reproached herself, “I’m sorry General.”

Chuckling, James waved it away, “No Weiss it’s fine. I’m glad to see you so concerned with their wellbeing. I’m glad you’ve made such good friends.” At that she smiled genuinely, “Yes I spoke with Miss Rose because Doctor Polendina had constructed her a prosthetic one to replace her severed one.”

This surprised the young heiress, normally Atlas technology was expensive and she didn’t think Ruby or her family had enough to cover for something made custom from a famous person like Doctor Polendina. 

“It was a gift from Atlas to Miss Rose for her heroic efforts during the Fall of Beacon. All the students who fought deserve rewards Miss Schnee. Even you. If you ever think of something you might need from me then all you have to do is talk to me.” 

With a bow James excused himself and headed down the corridor winding his way towards the exit. 

* * *

  
  


When the General was out of sight Weiss looked around and seeing that nobody was in sight she did a slight hop and silent cheer. The good news had wiped away the previous conversation she had had with her father. Hearing that Ruby was okay made her feel light and even though there was no info on Blake, that was to be expected. The girl was a former White Fang operative and wouldn’t be found unless she wanted to be. 

Besides, Sun had gone with the girl to look after her. The faunus himself may have been questionable but his heart was in the right place, she knew. Weiss found herself believing in Blake and even though it hurt having her leave the young heiress knew the last member of her team wouldn’t run anymore. 

So Weiss had to do what she was supposed to. Her father may want her wrapped around his finger but her time at Beacon had shown her what love could really be and the warmth of friendship. This cold manor was just a building, not a home and she determined that where she belonged was team RWBY. The memory of those days at Beacon spiked through her chest like a blade, she missed them dearly. 

Walking quickly Weiss swept into her room which now seemed to vast for her and opened the long case at her bedside. In it lay Myrtenaster, her partnered blade. Gingerly she picked it up. She had not touched it since returning to Atlas, choosing instead to wallow in despair. But now it was different. Her team was moving on and she was going to do the same. 

Moving furniture around she cleared a space in the center of the floor. In order to face her team with her head held high she would overcome the obstacle before her. Weiss raised her rapier in front of her then pointed it down into the floor, pouring the power from her semblance into it.

A glyph whirred to life on the floor.

* * *

  
  
  


Cat ears twitched in the wind as the ship settled into dock at Menagerie. Blake took a deep breath of the salty air before moving over the the gangplank. Sun was following her chatting animatedly while she only offered a comment her or there. She couldn’t say she really understood his excitement at being here. The whole island was just a reminder of the way the faunus had been treated in the past. 

Slowly as he kept babbling on she could guess what he was talking about. After having been away for so long even she could see past the symbolism and just look at the beauty of the faunus only culture here. It felt good not to hide. A place where you could feel comfortable. And even with the disadvantages of the island being mostly inhospitable the work of the faunus had done wonders here. 

Stopping by a stall she picked up some grilled fish on a stick that was making her stomach rumble. Sun mumbled appreciatively from a mouthful of his own and she rolled her eyes at him. Blake gave him a tour along the main road as they walked through Menagerie. She answered his questions and couldn’t help but think that he was a lot like Ruby in some aspects, that an orphaned vagabond like him could grow into such an innocent person was beyond her. 

Still, his smile and exuberance were as brilliant as his namesake and she was secretly grateful he had come along. She dreaded meeting her parents after so long and after all she had down. Blake wouldn’t have been surprised if they had disowned her after that. Al the young faunus could do was prepare herself for the consequences, this was bigger than herself.

Her problems had gotten her loved ones involved. Yang and Ruby were injured because of her and she was the only one who could fix it. The first step was admitting she had been wrong and apologising to her parents. She stopped as she crested the hill, the mansion coming into view. Sun got uncomfortably close, pointing his finger this way and that trying to guess where her house was until he went slack-jawed when she pointed him in the right direction. 

She would never admit the satisfaction she got out of leaving him speechless for once.

  
  


* * *

Ruby was pouting.

Yang really had to resist saying how cute it was. Her baby sister was showing jealousy. Of course it was adorable. What wasn’t adorable was the fact that she was jealous because the older sister, in teasing Jaune, had been caught with her arm around the boy that the younger sister liked. 

Yang didn’t need this kind of misunderstanding and had been explaining it to the young girl for what felt like forever back in the room at the inn they had rented. It had not helped when on the way back Nora had been over the moon and started singing a strange song about sitting in a tree. 

If Ren hadn’t finally gotten the girl to stop Yang probably would have started to strangle the red-head. The older sister wasn’t used to being the one embarrassed but her cheeks had flushed a little when Nora had started singing about kissing. 

“I’m telling you Rubes. It was nothing. I’m not into Jaune.”

“Then why were you two off alone at the arcade? I thought neither of you liked arcades!”

“We don’t!” Yang decried, “But see we saw Coco at a cafe and things got kinda heavy. Jaune was just tryna cheer me up. That’s all, Sis.”

Ruby grumbled about wanting to be cheered up like that too but Yang ignored it. With a sigh the younger sister finally looked like she believed her. Which was good because it had been two hours since then. 

“You saw Coco?” Ruby suddenly asked, sitting on her bed across from her sister.

“Yeah turns out she grew up here. Looks like everyone’s visiting home these days.” Yang told her about what they had talked about, minus the whole vengeance part. By the end Ruby was nodding along and flopped back onto her bed.

“You think we’ll find her?”

“Yep. Definitely. And when we do, we’ll bring her to justice.” Yang got up and went to change into her pajamas for the night. 

Ruby lifter her left hand up, holding it in front of her. It was almost as if she had trouble believing that her artificial arm was still there. Like if she didn’t constantly make sure then somehow it would disappear. 

“Justice, huh?” Her hand tightened into a fist and her eyes took on a keen edge. “That's not what monster's deserve.”


	8. Like Morning Follows Night

The large boat drifted to a stop and a shudder reverberated throughout as the gangplank descended onto the dock. A multitude of passengers began disembarking, among them were five teenagers traveling by themselves. The five were talking animatedly amongst themselves with two of them, a blonde man and a redheaded woman, were accounting tales of their time on the continent of Anima.

“Hey Jaune you said you went camping out here a lot right?” Ruby asked while her eyes roamed the surrounding. Even though it really wasn’t that much different from places near Vale or even the town of Kingsport which they had just departed, it was her first time all the way on another continent. Everything  _ felt  _ different to her even if it really wasn’t and she was busy absorbing everything. 

“Oh yeah. There’s a few campsites we frequented about a few days away from here by foot.” He had been through this port city, Midoriumi, every time he and his family had been camping. Jaune recounted how it was always during their summer breaks that they went camping for weeks out in Anima. 

“Oh yeah? Izzat why you don’t get sick on boats?” Yang latched onto him with an arm around his shoulder.

Jaune rolled his eyes at the girl, “Yes, Yang. I got used to boats. Trust me when I say you don’t want to hear about the first time I was on one.”

“If it’s anything like the first time I saw you at Beacon then I don’t wanna hear it.” The blonde grimaced as she remembered what had happened to her shoes that day. 

“It was worse.” Jaune sagged as he walked.

“Well how about some food then? You know some good places around here right?” When she got a nod from Jaune she turned to look at everyone, “That sound good…..Ruby?” The girl in the red cloak was nowhere to be found. This wasn’t completely unusual for the girl, she often had run off after seeing a strange new weapon but usually it was accompanied by a squeal of delight. 

There was nothing, she was there one moment and gone the next as if she had vanished into thin air and not even Ren knew what had happened to her.

Yang felt her heart start to beat fast as a small amount of panic rose in her chest. She knew her sister was strong, could handle most things, but the big sister in her couldn’t help but wonder  _ what if?  _ It would be just like Ruby to run into someone who she can’t handle.

* * *

_ What are the chances of running into you here?  _ Was Ruby’s first thought as she stared down the point of a very sharp and long needle like sword. It was a weapon made for stabbing and her eyes traveled down it’s length to the person holding it. Brown and pink eyes met hers and a slow, almost pleasant, smile spread across the woman’s face. 

“Neo, what are you doing here? W-?!” Her voice cut of as a finger pressed to her lips. Neo reached up with her free hand and tipped the bowler hat on her head. The one she was wearing looked identical to Roman’s, minus the feather. The tip of the needle pressed into Ruby’s neck and her aura pushed back. The grin on the other woman’s face turned almost feral as she pressed on, the younger girl’s back pressed to the alleyway wall she had been abducted into. 

Ruby could feel the point grating down her aura bit by bit and with a cry she used her artificial hand to knock the sword away, a line of pain dragged across her throat, and gained some distance, taking out Rose Thorn at the same time. She held it before her in the two handed defensive stance like she as taught. She had been practicing using her new weapon with both arms and was surprised that she was now basically ambidextrous. She couldn’t write as well with it was she could her dominant but in combat her two hands were now close to identical.

Pain lanced through her side as the needle-sword attacked her from behind and to her left, the illusion of Neo shattering in front of her. Ruby whirled around, deflecting the next strike and barely managing to deflect the next series of strikes, all aimed at vital points. 

  
  


The red-cloaked girl frantically backpedaled, “Wait, wait, wait! I didn’t kill Torchwick!” Neo only hesitated for a second before renewing her assault on the young girl. Ruby thrust forwards at the oncoming enemy but the woman simply sidestepped it into her guard and hooked the crook of her swords handle around the reaper’s neck and careened her headfirst into the wall.

Even though her aura absorbed the worst of the damage Ruby was left with spots in her eyes and the tip of a blade tickling her chin. Rather than try to finish her off right there, Neo leaned in with her eyes shifting to pink and cream. With one hand she fished out her scroll and typed a quick message on it before showing the screen to the girl she had pinned to a wall.

_ Who did? _

“No one did. He was… he was eaten by a Grimm.” Ruby stammered out.

With a silent snarl Neo stepped back and slammed her needle back into the umbrella before turning around to Ruby who was just rubbing her neck and eyeing her maybe-not-quite enemy warily.

_ Cinder planned it. _

Ruby read the message and an odd feeling rose up within her, it was almost like hope but more complicated, “Yeah. She’s the one who planned everything.” 

Neo’s usually playfully demeanor was nowhere to be found and a cold look that made the younger girl shiver adorned the multi-colored girls face as she typed another message up.

_ Do you seek her? _

Ruby merely nodded in assent and the other woman took out a small card and handed it to her. On it was inscribed a scroll’s contact information and a small sentence  _ Stay in touch.  _ When the young girl looked up Neo was gone. When she pulled her scroll out she noticed she had a few missed calls from Yang and about four times as many text messages. 

As Ruby turned out of the alley she decided against telling her sister about this encounter. There was no use worrying her over something she didn’t quite understand yet either.

Yang was losing her mind by the time she found her sister coming out of an alleyway. The young girl appeared while putting something into her pocket and looked up when the blonde girl yelled out her name. Several people stared but decided it wasn’t worth their time and continued on their way. 

“Ruby! Where’d you go all of a sudden? You should have said something if you were gonna check something out! I was worried about you, don’t disappear on me like that!” The girl in question looked like she was about to get whiplash from the way her sister went from berating, to hugging, to questioning, and back to berating her. Finally she shook her head and pushed her sister back to an arm’s length away.

“I’m fine, Yang. I just got seperated for a few minutes. I’m a huntress, I’m capable of looking after myself.” She pointedly looked at Yang when she hesitated and bit her lip, holding back on something it seemed she wanted to say. It was obvious her sister thought she couldn’t look after herself. It had been like that ever since the Fall of Beacon and Yang had only gotten more protective since. 

Ruby loved her sister, she really did, but this wasn’t something she could accept. Maybe she was only sixteen but she could look after herself. She was trained in combat and could hold her own against people like Torchwick. Powerful people like that were somewhat rare so the chances of running into someone stronger than Torchwick were low and the dark haired girl only refrained from saying as such because she had, in fact, run into Neo. 

It was the only thing that made her endure her sister’s rant until someone else came to her rescue.

“I think we established in Patch that Ruby can hold her own. There’s no need to say anything more, right Yang?” Jaune slid somewhat between the two sisters, holding his hands up to placate the other blonde. Yang stopped mid-sentence and although it looked like she had more to say she finally noticed just how many people were paying attention all around them. 

With a breath Yang suggested they go get some food and Nora perked up, suggesting a pancakes. No one noticed Ren observing the youngest of their party a little more attention, his eyes staring at a brand new hole in the girl’s cloak. 

* * *

  
  


“Sun!” Blake surged forward attempting to attack the spy, Illia, and fend her off why out of the corner trying to see if her companion was alright. Of course he wasn’t alright, he’d been stabbed. And to her horror, he wasn’t moving. The chameleon faunus jumped back and faded into the darkness as the cat faunus turned to rush to her downed friend. She continued saying his name over and over as she pressed a hand to his wound and with the other used her scroll to dial her mother. 

One and a half rings later Kali picked up, “ _ Blake? Where’d you go? Is everything okay? _ ” As tears rushed down that faunus’ face she frantically told her mother about Sun’s condition. Kali gasped on the other line and immediately told some of the personal guard at their estate to go out to their position to retrieve them. 

Blake let her scroll drop to her side and placed her other hand atop the boy’s wound. She’d had to perform first aid before in the White Fang, had seen allies die before as well. But this was different, another friend was nearly getting killed because of her. 

All she ever wanted was equality, to walk down the street without stares or sneers. She wanted to be able to be what she wanted to be and for others of her kind to have the same right. Blake didn’t want this. Not murder and certainly not terrorism. However yet again a friend was bleeding into her hands because of her, because she didn’t want to be alone and dragged someone else into the crossfire of  _ her  _ fight. 

Blake apologized over and over as she stared at the crimson slowly staining his shirt and her hands. 

That was how the guards and medics found her with Kali in tow. She took a look at her daughter and knelt besides her throwing her arms around the young girl. Gently she pulled her away to let the medics get to work on the young man. 

“Blake? Blake! I need you to tell me what happened here.” Kali shook her daughter’s shoulders slightly causing the young woman to look at her mother with tearstained eyes. 

“It’s my fault Mom. It’s all my fault.” Her heart broke at the sight of Blake blaming herself like that. She hugged her and started running her fingers through the young girl’s hair like she had long ago. 

“There there, dear. Your friend will be fine, we need to get back to the manor. I want you to talk to your father about everything that happened tonight.”

  
  


* * *

Everything hurts was the first thought that ran through Sun’s head as he started coming around. Then he noticed a sharp pain in his chest when he tried to breath and his eyes came open. Calming his breaths the pain became manageable while he looked around the room he had woken up in. It looked like Mr. Belladona’s study and he noticed in the chair near his, Blake sat, her head hung in her hands with her hair draped down. 

The fuzzy feeling in his head cleared as he recalled the events he could remember. The White Fang girl. The chase. Getting stabbed.  _ Oh yeah.  _ His aura had been low due to making so many aura clones with his semblance. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been hurt much when that girl had stabbed him. 

“Blake?” Her head stirred when he said her name. She turned towards him a looked him over with puffy eyes. When she saw him blinking owlishly at her, the cat faunus’ shoulders slumped in relief. Drawing herself together, she sat up and looked at him.

“This is why, Sun. This is why I ran away. I’m tired of seeing my friends hurt because of me. Yang, Ruby. Now you?” Her hands tightened into fists and she stood up, walking over to him as he attempted to sit upright, wincing in pain. 

“Shut up!” She cut him off as he attempted to speak, “I’m done seeing my friends hurt because of my mistakes.” She glared at him when he opened his mouth, “Do you think I like being alone? Do think I abandoned my friends for fun? I had to do this, Sun.”

He didn’t know what to say. Blake stood there, hands shaking and voice trembling. Something broke within her and she sat down beside him, her voice barely a whisper, “I think about them every day. Ruby. Yang. Even Weiss. I don’t like being alone and I thought that that was how it was going to be when I started attending Beacon. But instead I found Yang, my partner.

“She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She dragged me away from my books and forced me to come out of the shadows to be with the team. Then there’s Ruby. Ever the optimist. She was so pure and her intentions so genuine. She tried her hardest in everything she did. I thought I hated Weiss, at first. She was judgemental and cold but when we finally got to know her I found that she was perhaps the one who craved true friendship the most. I judged her for her heritage, I was just as bad as those racists whom I despise so much.

“I’m glad I was proven wrong. I love them, Sun. I love them more than I thought I could love anyone. They are a second family to me. Do you know how it feels to have that family put in danger because of you? I hope they hate me for leaving.”

The last part was choked out. Blakes breathing was heaving and her hands were clenched so hard her knuckles turned white, “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes I do!” Her head snapped in his direction, her eyes boring into his, “You saw Illia last night. She’s not even the worst of them! No, no more. They’re better off without someone like me. My choices are mine and so are the consequences.”

Sun felt something ugly in the pit of his stomach. Sure he could admit to having a crush on the girl in front of him, what wasn’t there to like? But what began as interest had turned into a genuine friendship. He wanted to see her succeed and cared for her. What he felt wasn’t some shallow feeling of attraction but a genuine love and desire to see the other party happy no matter what. 

“Sure. You get to make your own decisions, but you don’t get to make ours. I’d do what I did last night over again, and honestly Yang would probably say the same. Thing is, Blake, when your friends decide to fight for you, it’s because we want to. When you push us away and make that choice for us, that hurts more than anything the likes of ‘those’ people could do to us.”

Sun looked over and Blake was looking away, her ears turned sideways. He sighed internally, he loved the girl but she was stubborn to a fault. It’s why he had followed her, even if she hadn’t been going to do what he thought she had, what was best for someone wasn’t always what they wanted. For Blake it was companionship. No matter if she wanted to be abandoned he wouldn’t let that happen. 

Sun considered everyone else on team RWBY his friends as well and he owed it to them to help Blake however he could. A grin came across his face, “Besides, if it makes you feel better, the next time I go up against that lizard girl, it’ll be for me.” He made a pose with his left arm but winced at the sharp pain. Blake hid a laugh behind her hand and a small smile was there when she took it away, he thought he heard something about a hero when the door to the room suddenly fell over. Behind it was Ghira Belladona pinching the bridge of his nose and Kali Belladona standing up quickly.

“Oh dear would you look at that! He’s awake!” 

Blake’s ears flattened against her head as she glared at her mother.

* * *

  
  


The door chimed as a group of people walked into the inn of a certain village. It was about a two day’s walk from the port city and as such was fairly big for a frontier town. Jaune looked tired, like he wasn’t getting enough sleep and Nora and Yang were getting into an argument about which would win in a match between a King Tajitu and a Deathstalker. Ren hung back as Jaune went up to make their reservation.

“Ruby. I know it’s not really my business but what really happened back in Midoriumi? You’ve nervous since we left.” That gaze devoid of expectations bore into the silver eyes girl and made her shuffle her feet.

“You have to keep it quiet okay? I don’t want to worry everyone, honestly I’m not really sure what to make of what happened.” She only continued when he sighed and nodded along with her, “Okay so I kinda got into a fight with that girl who was with Torchwick.” When his eyes widened in surprise she rushed to add, “But it’s fine we talked it out…. Kinda. So thing is she thought I took out Torchwick. I was able to convince her it wasn’t me and she kinda sorta maybe wants to help us get Cinder.”

Ruby poked her index fingers together, staring up at Ren who had his hand in his face. It was easy to tell he regretted asking her but his duty wouldn’t let it go, “You were planning to tell us that a criminal wanted to assist us right?”

She wilted under his gaze and nodded saying that she just didn’t know how to bring it up with everyone. Ren agreed to follow her lead but she  _ had  _ to tell everyone soon and they joined the group at the receptionist’s desk. 

“Okay so that’ll be three rooms with six people. A hundred lien a night a room so three hundred lien please.”

Six people? Everyone looked around doing a quick head count and everyone gaze settled on the sixth person standing just within their group. Everyone froze and Ruby’s blood ran cold seeing the short woman standing there smiling. She looked behind her and then looked forward, not finding anyone else who could have been the culprit. 

Neo waved cheerfully at everyone. 


	9. Determination of the Quiet

It was Yang who reacted first, Ember Celica clicking into weapon mode as she jumped towards the multi-colored woman without hesitation. She yelled at everyone to get back and ignored Ruby’s shocked face while throwing several rapid punches at the woman. First she needed to get Neo’s attention and keep it while everyone else can come from behind or the sides in order to subdue the criminal. 

Yang’s flurry of attacks were either avoided or deflected but she didn’t waste much energy on them anyways. The point was to keep her dodging until the team could back her up and it was about them that she realized that no one had done so. A quick glance back showed Ren with his hand on Nora’s shoulder though she had her hammer our and ready. A flash of rose petals and her younger sister was between her and her opponent with her arms outstretched sideways facing Yang.

“No fighting Yang!”

“Ruby she worked with Torchwick, she’s here for revenge. Get out of the way.” The blonde didn’t lower her stance and tried to duck around her sister but Ruby moved to block her again. Behind her Neo waved cheekily at her.

“Dammit Ruby get the hell outta the way!” Her eyes were crimson at this point and zeroed in on the object of her rage. 

“No Yang, she’s not her to hurt us she’s on our side!” 

Yang’s thought process came to a halt as she stared at her sister. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her younger sister, the pieces falling into place but feeling the need to confirm it, “Ruby. Does this have anything to do with when you disappeared?”

Ruby’s silence was answer enough.

“Dammit Ruby! Why the hell wouldn’t you tell me about something like this?! WHAT HAPPENED?”

“She found me at Midoriumi. She thought I killed Torchwick since I was the last to see him. I managed to convince her that it wasn’t me. She asked who was responsible but since it was a Grimm it wasn’t really anybody’s fault except the person who planned it so she kinda agreed to keep in touch and go after Cinder with us.” Yang crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, “I was gonna tell everyone, honest! I just didn’t think she was just gonna show up again so soon.”

Behind her Neo smiled and put her thumb and pinky next to her ear like a phone. It was Ren who spoke up next, having gone and comforted the poor receptionist who looked to be on the verge of a panic attack, “Perhaps the rest should be discussed privately? If we aren’t going to start a fight in the middle of this inn, that is.”

Yang’s cheeks flushed with color when she realized they were in the middle of an inn and every other patron was staring at their group. With a cough she folded her arms with Ember Celica sliding back into bracelet form. 

Neo strode up to Yang with a grin that she could only be seen as malicious and extended a hand out to her. The blonde looked at it like it was a snake but reluctantly shook it after seeing the hopeful expression on Ruby’s face.

Yang couldn’t help but think that she was going to regret this.

  
  
  
  


“Hello dear Sister.”

Weiss grimaced a little when she heard the voice behind her. She didn’t want to deal with Whitley right now, not when she had training to do. They hadn’t spoken since the one time when she had been summoned to her father’s office and she would have prefered it to stay that way. However she couldn’t lose face or show weakness in front of him so she collected herself and put on her best face for pleasantries before turning to address him.

“Hello Whitley. Is there something you needed of me?” The same pleasant smile was on his face.

“Why, I have barely had a chance to speak to my beloved sister since she got home. I was so worried when I heard about Beacon. It had been such a relief to have you back home where you can recover.”

“Thank you for your concern Whitley. As you can see, I am doing well right now and have fully recovered from my experience.” She had noticed what he’d said and judging from the way his eyes twitch he knew she knew. Neither were going to let on with their facade however. 

“That’s wonderful to hear Sister, should you need to speak with me I will, of course, be available.”

“I will keep that in mind, Brother.” _Not in a million years_ , she thought to herself. She watched him turn and walk back to wherever it was he came from with his hands clasped behind his back in a poor imitation of their father. Everything Whitley did or said was an attempt at mimicry of their father and it went poorly. He was too young to understand gravitas and simply came off as conceited or creepy. 

Weiss had known her younger brother resented both her and Winter for being older and therefore heirs. He wanted the same power as father and he hated the fact that his older sisters were first in line in front of him. With Winter being disinherited for joining the Atlas military the title fell onto Weiss. Her eyes narrowed as she pieced together what he was saying, most likely he was scheming to have her disinherited to, through some scandal or maybe finding a way to make her seem incapable.

Whitley was greedy and not the most talented of the siblings, earning scorn from their father despite how badly he tried to be like the man. For Jacques, none of his children were good enough and all were pawns. It was something both Winter and Weiss had come to realize in time. Whitley was still trying to earn his approval and, therefore, love. 

Once he was gone Weiss sighed to herself before making her way to the gardens. 

Opening the door to the manor’s indoor garden Weiss felt a wave a warm air flood over her before closing the door behind her. The area was fairly large with trees and various plants throughout the garden. The place had a veritable army of caretakers. Up above the heat lamps simulated a warm day, like the ones she had gotten used to in Vale. Taking in the fragrant smells the heiress made her way towards the center of the garden.

A woman sat in the center under a parasol with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, a butler stood in attendance some distance away. The heiress’ footsteps slowed as she approached her mother. Her hands wrung together and she bit her lower lip. 

“Weiss don’t just stand there like the scenery, come here.” Willa Schnee looked at her daughter expectantly. Dutifully she approached her mother and greeted her with a curtsy.

“Good day Mother.” She tried to look Willa in the eyes but the unfocused look of inebriation made her turn her eyes downward, “I hope you are well today.”

“Why, Weiss, I am doing absolutely wonderful now! Winter’s galavanting all across Mistral for Ironwood, Whitley still has delusions of grandeur and my middle daughter has finally deigned to speak with me.” She took another drought of wine before fixing her daughter with a stare.

“I… am sorry Mother. I have been… unwell since coming back from Vale.” Willa put her book down and blinked her eyes, taking yet another drink from her wine glass.

“Hmmm, yes, I had heard about Beacon. A tragedy. You are fine though now? No lasting effects?”

“No Mother. I am fine. How have you been while I was away?” Weiss clasped her hands behind her back only because if she hadn’t she would be fiddling with them and that would be poor form. 

“Oh delightful. With you and Winter gone I only had my son and husband for company. I’m sure you can imagine how warm that was. However, I barely noticed that you were back. It is high time you showed your face in front of me Weiss.” 

“Again, Mother, I am sorry bu-”

“But nothing Weiss. Any excuse not to visit your drunk of a mother?” Her eyes were no longer unfocused as they bored into Weiss’, “Really now. Winter’s already abandoned the family are you going to as well?”

The heiress clenched her hands and closed her eyes for a long moment, “I would never abandon you Mother. However I also have my duty as a Schnee to uphold.”

Willa scoffed and waved the butler away, 

“Duty of a Schnee,” She hissed, “I did my duty and married for the good of the SDC. Jacques took over and now the SDC is more powerful than before but what about my happiness, Weiss? Do I get a happy ending too? My husband treats me like a tool and my children pretend I don’t exist. So tell me Weiss, what duty?”

The heiress took a step back, the words coming as if a physical blow. Her Mother had been drinking for as long as Weiss could remember and she was a stoic and cold woman, seeing her like this was a first for the young woman. Willa’s chest heaved as she shielded her eyes from view, her glass lay forgotten on the table next to her. 

“Mother…. I have a duty as someone with more to use the opportunities given to me to do what I think is right. And I think that would be best served as a huntress. It is why I chose to attend Beacon Academy. Terrible things are happening in the world right now and I refuse to just sit here locked up to become a pawn in the machinations of my Father.”

The silence was deafening as the young woman realized she had let her passion get the better of her and raised her voice against her own mother. A hand up to her mouth Weiss looked at Willa to gauge her reaction but nothing was forthcoming. Realizing that it would be futile to expect a response anymore she turned and started back towards her room, uncertain as to what she expected coming to her mother after so long.

It had been many years since Willa stopped trying to be a mother, around the time Winter started training at Atlas Academy to join the Specialists. While she had a tendency for alcoholism before, once her older daughter left the household and joined the military it only got worse with her secluding herself to the garden nearly everyday, closed off to everything and content to be abandoned.

Or so Weiss had thought but maybe not all was as it seemed as she walked away from her mother. 

“I hope you are stronger than I was, Weiss.” 

The voice was quiet and nearly rooted the young woman to the ground but she moved on as if she had not heard her mother’s parting comment. Worry gave way to determination once again as icy, blue eyes stared directly ahead and Weiss stood just a little taller. 

  
  


* * *

“I still don’t like this.” Yang huffed and crossed her arms as they walked along the well worn road to the next town, their sixth member walking with a silent spring in her step to the right of Jaune. 

While Ruby couldn’t say she trusted the woman, she trusted the fact that Neo wanted vengeance. That was enough to convince her to at least not show any animosity towards the woman. That was if she hadn’t immediately started hanging awfully close to Jaune since they left. 

The young huntress had to keep telling herself not to say anything, Jaune was awesome and Neo saw that. That’s all there was to it. 

Neo wrapped her arms around one of Jaune’s, pressing her chest against it and looked over at Yang with a smug smile. Ruby’s eyebrow twitched violently along with Yang’s. The multi-colored girl had been purposefully pushing the blonde-haired huntress’ buttons ever since they had left in the early morning. They could all feel the heat radiating from the blonde, she hadn’t been happy with the decision to let Neo accompany them though the woman herself made it clear that it would only be part way for now and that she had business to attend to before meeting them at Haven.

_I could just let Yang strangle her._ Ruby thought, looking at how Jaune was trying, and failing, to pretend she wasn’t affecting him. Luckily it was Ren who saved the day.

“Jaune, what’s the name of the town we are heading to next?” Jaune paused to take out the large map that required two hands to hold and thus Neo was forced to let go of him. Ruby decided to get Ren some peace and quiet away from Nora sometime as thanks.

“A small village by the name of Tetsu. It’s located near a river at the top of a valley. The locals at the last village were saying it’s a pretty peaceful village with low Grimm activity. Basically just another frontier village. There’s another, larger, village a few more days beyond that called Shion. It’s near one of the areas my family vacationed in.”

“Oh? Know any good, romantic spots we could watch the sunset from?” Yang went right back to teasing him, her default for the past few months.

“Eh, I mean I can think of a few spots that would be good for that. Mom and Dad certainly loved them.” 

Neo tugged on his sleeve and pointed from him to her and back again.

“You want to go together?” She nodded happily as the blonde went red. 

Ruby felt another increase in temperature from her sister and could almost hear her teeth grinding together.

“I freaking hate her.”

Ruby couldn’t agree more.


	10. Out With the Old

Jaune hummed as he drew in a notebook he had brought out, propping himself up against the base of a tree at the edge of a clearing. The sounds of clashing metal could be heard along with grunts and the occasional shouts. After a particularly painful sounding smack he winced and looked up to see Ruby on the ground with a smiling Neo standing triumphantly above her. Yang shouted and ran in earning an open umbrella to the face. The multi-colored girl swept on foot out from under the blond and hooked her curved handle around the back of her neck, depositing her neatly on top of the already tired Ruby.

“Yaaaaang, get oooooffffff!!” The young reaper protested loudly as the two struggled to extricate themselves. With a sigh Neo marched over and plopped herself down next to the blond knight, her back against the same tree. It was clear she was down sparring for now and the clear chagrin of the sisters, they weren’t going to be able to continue either. Although the mute woman had taken a handful of hits, the fight had gone clearly in favor, even two on one. 

Jaune felt glad she at least wasn’t their enemy as he went back to drawing and Ruby sat next to him on his other side. Yang wandered off to see if Ren was done with breakfast yet. Ruby leaned over to see what he was drawing and let out a surprised gasp.

“Are you designing a new weapon?!” Her voice rose in pitch to a squeal at the end. 

“Erm, actually I’m just designing an upgrade. My breastplate is feeling a little tight so I thought I’d commission a new one and get an upgrade for Crocea Mors. I’m still not sure what exactly to upgrade. I’m thinking of adding a ranged option, like a gun form.”

Ruby stared at him with a deadpan face and then shook her head, “With older weapons you would need to make a new weapon for an option like that. It would cost waaaay too much. It’s better to upgrade using something that modifies the mechashift that’s already there.”

“But my mechashift is in my shield. What should I add, a bigger shield?” Ruby fell into a thinking pose as she considered what could be done with his weapon when he received a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Neo holding her umbrella with two hands like a sword and swinging it like it was heavy.

“Oh that’s it!” Ruby was the first to get it and started babbling as she took his notebook, drawing fast as she spouted of some things that went just about over his head. After a few minutes she showed him her drawing. In it was just one weapon but from the other sketching it looked like a large combined form of Crocea Mors.

“Neo’s right. You have a sword and shield right? Well if you want more combat options you can expand that to a two handed sword. The shield is already pretty heavy so adding that to a large two-handed blade design and you can increase your attack power!”

Silver eyes sparkled as Jaune took the notebook and considered the idea. Neo had a smug look on her face as she sat back down and Jaune set the notebook aside, putting both hands in front of him as if gripping a large sword. 

He turned to Ruby and nodded at her, “It sounds perfect for me.”

* * *

  
  


They arrived at Tetsu the next day, it was a small village and a group of children stopped to stare at them. Jaune’s eye caught a sign hanging from a shop and quickly walked over there, saying this was just what he was looking for.

A small ring as the opened the door and a gruff voice sounded from the back. A burly ox of a faunus was the one who appeared, wiping his hands on a cloth, “Bunch o’ young huntsmen eh? What can I do ya for? Repairs?”

“A-Actually,” Jaune stuttered as he stepped forward, “I wanted to get my weapon modified.” He brought forward his weapon and deployed the shield, setting it on the counter. “I have some plans for some mods soooo I was wondering if you could do it. I’ve also brought some material to use as well.”

The large man poured over the sketches and then inspected the sword and shield. He looked at Jaune and eyed his armor, “Be needing a new breastplate too?”

“Yeah. I’ve pretty much grown out of this one.” The blo9nde looked down at the armor that had accompanied him thus far.

“Alright I can do it. Yer all huntsmen and huntresses right?” He continued after they all nodded with Neo choosing not to answer and instead inspect his various wares displayed. “Well y’see about a month ago a grimm started botherin’ us. It don’t come to the town but has taken up near the villagte and harrasses anyone who goes out there. We’ve had a couple deaths and some serious wounds from it. Y’all hunt this thing down I’ll make this free for ya.”

Jaune looked at everyone in turn, they all nodded. Ruby would have insisted on killing it anyways but if they could get these mods for it then that was even better. Jaune looked back to the blacksmith and agreed to his terms. A big smile spread across the man’s face as he picked up Crocea Mors.

“Alright, kid. I’ll get started on this, you guys go talk to the mayor. He can tell ya more about where that thing is hidin’ out.”

* * *

Spreading a local map out on the table Jaune weighed down the corners with a much and a plate. On the map were several circles and lines drawn in red. 

“Okay. So the mayor said that the Grimm has attacked people in these circled areas. The lines indicate the paths that the village has investigated and they have yet to find out where it’s hiding. From witnesses it’s some kind of golem grim or something. It’s entire body is made of rock.”

Ren looked down for a minute before pointing to an area, “The Grimm is most likely residing here, based on these patterns of attacks.” 

“Right so we go in there and smash it. Simple enough.” Yang smashed her fists together and Nora echoed her sentiments and hefted Magnhild.

“No. We shouldn’t fight it there.” It was Jaune who said this, “Looked. This Grimm is supposed to be really big so fighting it in the forest would be a bad idea. We wouldn’t have enough room to move around and dodge.”

After a few moments he pointed to a spot nearby on the map, “This clearing lookings big enough. If we can lure it here we can attack it safely.”

“I can be the bait.” Everyone turned to Ruby, who had spoken up, “I’m the fastest. I can go find it and lure it into the clearing. It’ll be fine.”

“It’s too dangerous. I’ll be the bait, Rubes.” Yang spoke up, placing a hand on Ruby’s shoulder.

“I said I’d be fine Yang, A Grimm like that won’t catch me. And even if it could I have my aura. It won’t hurt me.” The young girl gave her sister a sharp look as Yang drew her hand back quickly like she had been bitten. Neo watched with interest from the corner while Ren and Nora exchanged a glance with each other. 

“Yeah. Alright Sis.” Yang’s hand clutched to her elbow as they went about planning the rest of the operation.

Jaune suddenly stood ramrod straight, “Wait I don’t have a weapon!”

  
  


“Begin Operation Smashums!”

“We aren’t calling it that Nora.”

“I dunno Ren, Smashums sounds pretty accurate.”

With a sigh Ren trudged on the catch up with his team leader. He had always been grateful to only have one exuberant teammate back in Beacon but now with Nora and Yang in close proximity constantly there was sometimes a stereo of crazy and it tried even his patience. Luckily Yang attention was taken by Jaune or Ruby most times so Nora instigated shenanigans were limited to just here, thankfully. 

  
  


Jaune crouched behind a fallen tree, his eyes on the clearing up ahead only turning to glance back at them when Ren settled down next to him, “Where’s Neo?”

“She disappeared a few minutes back, not like she was gonna participate anyways.” Yang settled down next to the blonde man while worriedly biting her bottom lip.

Jaune took his attention off of the clearing and looked to his blonde teammate, “Yang, Ruby will be fine. I know what happened at the Fall has you worried about her but you know she’s strong.”

With a forced sigh, Yang looked down for a moment, “Yeah. Yeah I KNOW that but… I’ve just got this feeling ya know? A bad one like if I let my eyes off of her… I dunno. She hates it. I know that much.”

“Yang.” His attention immediately whipped around as he heard sounds of crashing. A sound of sword striking rock rung out and a red blur flew into the clearing just in front of a hulking form that tossed trees aside like they were made of toothpicks. 

“Get it’s attention off Ruby!” Jaune started running along the circumference of the clearing while Yang started throwing shots from Ember Celica at it. Ren and Nora took the high ground of the tree branches with the red-head launching several of her grenades at the golem. One of the boulder-arms covered it’s face as it turned towards the new threat and tried to smash it. Nora and Ren hopped from tree to tree while taking shots at the Grimm.

Ruby skidded to a halt next to Yang and Jaune ran up to the sisters, “Ruby you good?” With a nod in the affirmative the blonde huntsman took a good look at the enemy. It only had one Gimm-like part and that was it’s face. The rest was just as the mayor had said, rock. Precisely it seemed to be made up of boulders that acted individually from each other. Yang and Ruby split up to attack it. 

The red hooded girl rushed in towards it’s legs, slashing at what she could but doing no damage. Yang bounded out of the trees, going for it’s face. It brought a boulder up to block and it swung that arm away, sending Yang flying back into the treeline. Jaune’s mind worked a mile a minute, churning away various attack patterns. Coming to a conclusion he shout out to his teammates, “Try and eliminate it’s arms!”

Yang came charging once again out of the trees and met the boulder-fist head one sending it flying away where Nora landed and smashed Magnhild on top of it, activating her grenade canister and pulverizing the stone into bits. Like Jaune had hoped that arm was gone. 

A red glyph appeared where the arm had been, a grimm appendage materialized from in and the golem stuck it into the trunk of a nearby uprooted tree. Picking the new wooden limb up it started swinging it in wide arcs at it’s assailants.

“Big mistake!” Yang fired a volley from her weapon at the now flammable arm making the golem take a step back. It brought the flaming tree before it, seemingly to inspect it. Before it started swinging a flaming tree at the group.

“Dammit Yang!” Jaune complained as he dodged swip after swipe of burning trunk. Tripping after a close call the blond looked up at the oncoming trunk of death when a whirling blade sliced at the face of the gimm causing it to fall backwards, shielding it’s face. The team regrouped together as the grimm struggled to right itself.

“Our blades can’t hurt it.” Ren said as they came together with Ruby nodding along.

“It’s not the body that it’s protecting.” Jaune said, deep in thought.

“We can’t get to it’s face like this.” Yang added.

An idea sparked to life in Jaune’s head, “I got it! We hit it harder!”

His excited expression was met with lidded eyes, “No shit Jaune. But how? We’ve been beating at it with all we got.” Yang crossed her arms.

“Not everything. Guys if we destroy it’s limbs we can get a shot at destroying it’s face.” He turned to Nora, “Think you can hit Yang with your upgrade?”

Both Yang and Nora’s eyes lit up as they caught onto what he was thinking. 

“Jaune you’re crazy.” She slammed her fists together, “Fortunately for you. I like crazy.”

With a maniacal grin Nora started charging up with Magnhild, the weapon pouring electricity into her.

“Ren, Ruby. We will distract it while they prepare.” With a nod they split off in different directions, Ren firing at the now upright Grimm to get it’s attention. When it started closing on him, Ruby would run in and slash towards it’s face, forcing it to turn on her and away from him. 

“Ready!” Called Nora and Yang braced herself, her arms crossed over her head. Jumping up the red-head dropped the hammer on top of the blond with a tremendous crash. 

Yang was driven to her knees, cracks formed in the ground and dust flew everywhere. A burning heat washed over Jaune, the dust blowing away as Yang fully activated her semblance, hair bursting into flames.

“Oh, you’re so fucked.” Slamming her fists together Yang yelled out, “Ruby! Sunflower!” 

A whirl of petals and Ruby appeared behind Yang, “Got it Sis!” Grabbing her sister by the waist the blurred into yellow and red as Ruby took Yang along into her semblance at maximum speed, aiming for the face of the golem. Ren appeared and blocked the boulder-arm and the tree arm wasn’t fast enough to block it. 

With a crack that echoed throughout the forest the central body splintered as Yang’s fist connected center mass. Shards rained upon the ground as the grimm fell apart and the blond let out a whoop of joy. A burst of black smoke and the face of the grimm flew out of it’s body and started flying away.

“It’s a Gheist!” Ruby cried out in surprise while the Grimm made it to the treeline. She quickly fell into her draw strance, drawing upon her semblance to rush after the escaping grimm. Before she could actually follow through the Grimm stopped dead in it’s path, a spike perforating through it’s head. 

It fell, disintegrating, as a familiar multi-colored girl smiled and waved at the group, shouldering her umbrella. Jaune waved back in thanks while Yang once again glowered at the girl. 

“I don’t get her at all.” Ruby giggled at her sister’s grumbling even if she could understand the sentiment. 

* * *

  
  


With a thunk the ox faunus hefted a breastplate onto the counter, “Now this is gonna be heavier than you’re used to but that’s the price of quality. I made it to match you’re upgraded sword.”

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Jaune was struck speechless, it was beautiful. The white accented with a gold colored metal.

“No need to say nothin’. Just try it on! I’ll go get the rest.” 

Jaune unbuckled his old breastplate and set it on the counter. He ran his hands over it one last time, taking a moment to memorize the nicks and scars. He could remember almost every single one that he got. One long one was from Pyyrha and he ran a finger along it. 

“It is a sign of progress, Jaune.” The blond nodded along to Ren, repeating the word as if to make it true. He turned to his friend and when he did so the girl’s eyes all lit up. Ruby’s hand flew to her mouth trying, and failing, to suppress her laughter. 

“What is that!” She pointed at Jaune’s hoodie, snorting in laughter. Confused the blond looked down at it and then back up.

“It’s the Pumpkin Pete hoodie. I’ve always worn this.”

“Never seen you without your armor on, lover boy. That or your onesie.” Yang’s smirk said she’d get way too much mileage out of this and Jaune’s spirit dropped to his feet. He looked at the one of the other girls in the room, Nora having been on his team and seeing the hoodie since day one, Neo was staring wide-eyed at his hood and slowly met his hopeful eyes. 

She smiled at him and brought her hands up to head and made bunny ear signs while tilting her head. 

“As mecha-shift weaponry goes, this was a pretty easy job. Not many have appreciation for straightforward weapons nowadays. That Mistralian Shine-Steel you brought me accents the white perfectly. Where’d you get it from?” A thunk resounded and the conversation was forgotten as Jaunes new shield was deployed. 

The rainbow crest was still there in the center but now it was bordered by a gold colored gilding on the edges and set in a familiar pattern. 

“From a friend.” Jaune said quietly as he reached for Crocea Mors. It was stunning to see in person, the image he had in his head didn’t do it justice. A finger traced the gold pattern and he collapsed it back into storage mode before grabbing the rest of the gear to put on. 

When Jaune stepped out of the shop he felt almost like a new person, and a little better than he had before. Pyyrha would always be with him now and it was something he took great comfort in. Yang let out a low whistle. 

“You clean up good, lover boy.”

“Still needs a grenade launcher if you ask me.” Nora piped in.

“No thanks Nora. For now I think I’ll stick to the basics.” Jaune drew the blade and inspected it. Gilding traveled up the length of the blade and the crossguard was etched with a detailed inlay and more material had been added to it. Resheathing the weapon the blond looked to his team plus one.

“Let’s move on to Shion. We’ve still got a long ways to go.”


	11. Lotus of Remembrance

Jaune dropped the map and started running. His heart pounding in his chest as he saw the devastation out before him. 

The town of Shion was no more. 

The attack seemed to have recently happened, buildings were burned out husks and corpses lay here and there. A crashed airship lay near the entrance with weapon scoring all over the hull. The others ran up to him and he barely heard Ruby say to look for survivors. The smell of charred wood and flesh assaulted his senses and he spun around at the sound of Ren’s voice.

Running over to him he found Ren kneeling in front of a man laid with his back to a broken wall. He had a hand to a wound just below his ribs, his breathing was haggard with the occasional cough.   
  


“What happened here? Who killed all these people?!” Jaune managed to choke out as he skidded to a stop in front of the man.

“Bandits. They attacked Shion and during the fighting. Came. The Grimm.” The huntsman wheezed out the words, taking deep breaths in between some of them. His eyes were losing concentration. Ren had pulled out some first aid supplies and was attempting to dress the wound so Jaune and the others stepped away so as not to crowd the wounded man.

“We have to get him to help.” Ruby was the first to speak, casting a glance back at the man. 

“The next village should have a doctor. We could take turns.” Even Yang looked uncomfortable in the ruins of the town.

“Right. Ren and I can take turns carrying hi-”

“Guys.” A quiet voice from behind and they all turned towards the source. Ren stood and made a helpless gesture towards the man they had just been trying to save. He was clearly dead now, chin resting on his chest and his breathing stopped. Ruby felt a tight squeeze in her chest and Jaune put a hand to his forehead. Yang stood there with her fists clenched, frustrated like they all were right then.

“Should we bury him?” Nora spoke up first, eyes glued to the man.

Ren pushed past them, “We should go. It isn’t safe here.” The black haired man stood a distance away, head down as Nora went to him with a worried look. 

With a cry of anger Yang splintered a nearby lamp post with her fist, she stood there voicing the groups thoughts by muttering _dammit_ over and over again. Jaune put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She realized she felt something wet on her cheeks and hurriedly wiped her face before running over to give her sister a hug.

“We’ll be able to do something next time Yang. We won’t be helpless anymore.”

Turning around, Yang embraced her younger sister, agreeing with the younger girl. Jaune walked over to the airship where he could see several dead. Some looked to be hunters but others had something that though it couldn’t be called a uniform was definitely a theme. The bodies of what he could only assume were the bandits were dressed in similar colors of dark grey, black, and reds. The weapons they wielded were patchwork and looked to be held together by luck and maintenance. 

Jaune held a hand over his mouth to staunch the queasiness he felt. Muttering a silent apology to the dead he began taking the dust from the bodies around him. The first one had a revolver utilizing dust cartridges that were of a standard make. It looked like the bandits all used very standard stuff.

“Jaune what are you doing?!” Turning back he saw Ruby’s horrified expression, both hands covering her mouth as she looked at what her friend was doing. Yang was as shocked but definitely seemed uncomfortable with it.

“I know Ruby, I don’t like it either but we’re probably going to need the dust. Who knows what we’re going to fight from now on. Besides. The dead aren’t going to use it anyways.” He placed several more cartridges into his pack while avoiding looking into the glazed eyes of the deceased.

“This is wrong Jaune. We can’t just disrespect the dead like this.” The blond man stopped again and looked over at the young woman, his stomach twisting at the pleading look she gave him.

“I won’t ask you to do this Ruby, but we need this. And if we don’t need it someone else would. We could help someone. Another hunter or a village. It’s better than it just sitting here.”

The girl just stood there, unable to decide on what she should do. Yang put an arm around her and whispered to her sister, “Ruby why don’t you scout ahead a little bit. I’ll help Jaune.”

A wide eyed stare at the blond woman and a nod with weak reply and the girl left, observing the road ahead for Grimm. Yang knelt down near Jaune and began stripping the dust from the bandits.

“What made you decide to do this Jaune?” Without looking up from her grim task the brawler asked him her question.

“I dunno. Just kinda thinking about how we might not be prepared. I saw this one guy’s bandolier and just thought ‘what a waste’”

Yang merely hummed in thought at that and they continued the unpleasant job in silence for a few minutes before Ren and Nora came over to them. The unsaid question burned in the black haired man’s eyes and Jaune stood up and told Yang they might as well move on before turning to his teammate once again.

“Just salvaging, Ren. You okay?” 

Ren looked away, “We just need to move on.”

Nodding Jaune called over to Neo who was standing in the same spot Ren had been, looking at the ground with her head tilted to the side.

“Neo is everything okay?” With that the small woman looked up at him and strode over and past him, following in the same direction that Ruby had gone in earlier. A quick glance showed some kind of large print, probably one of the grimm that had attacked Shion.

The group trudged through the rest of the town, taking in the devastation done by the bandits and Grimm. Jaune had been there a bit over a year ago with his family. They had hiked trails he could see from here. He even recognized a couple of the faces of the dead and bile rose up. His hand clamped over his mouth and he almost doubled over from the effort. 

A flash of rose petals and Ruby arrived in a state of near panic, “Guys! There’s someone still alive. I think they’re trapped!” 

I spike of adrenaline shot through the group as they began sprinting after the cloaked girl who led the way.

A small voice could be heard sobbing from a collapsed building. It looked to have been smashed to pieces rather than burned down and the young girl’s voice was hoarse as she cried.

“Hello? Can you hear me? We’re coming to get you out!” Ruby called out as she zipped around trying to locate where the young girl was. Everyone else began to lift debris up and aside while being careful not to shift anything that might crush the survivor. The girl was sobbing about her parents. Finally they sighted some bloodied cloth and began digging there, the voice just beyond. 

Jaune’s blood froze as he realized why the young girl had survived. The house had collapsed and the two parents and shielded their child with their bodies. A piece of lumber had pierced the mother and the father had his head caved in. As he and Yang moved the corpses aside Ren leaned in and gently scooped the girl into his arms, carrying her down to ground level. 

Her crying stopped as the man used his semblance to calm the child who couldn’t have been more than five years old. Sitting her down on some would he brought out a cloth and wetted it from his canteen. Slowly and gently he began to wipe the blood away, checking for wounds. As the girl began to come out from under the blood and dirt Ren released his semblance and she began sniffling.

“Hi there. My name is Lie Ren. What is your?” He tucked her hair behind her ears and continued cleaning her up. Luckily the girl seemed to only have cuts and scrapes. Probing with his aura he felt a weak force push back and he smiled faintly and the young girl. Her aura had become unlocked somehow in the crisis. 

“Amaranth Teolin." The girl dutifully answered, "Mister Ren where are Mommy and Daddy?” The girl’s light pink hair shifted as she craned her neck searching for her parents. 

“I’m sorry Amaranth. You’re parents have died. They are gone.” The girl looked at him with a curious expression on her face. Then she looked back at her ruined house. “We need to get you to the next village Amaranth. Do you know if you have any family nearby?”

“I don’t know…. It’s fine though. I can wait here till Daddy comes back.”

“No. He’s not coming back. I’m sorry but he is gone.”

“Liar! Daddy told me to watch out for strangers! You can’t trick me!” She suddenly lashed out at him, startling Ren and running for the ruined house. She only made it three steps when Yang scooped her up and held the hellion close as she screamed, kicked, and fought against the young huntress’ grip. All the blond did was apologize over and over again as the girl’s struggles slowed and eventually ceased. Now sobbing once again the young girl gripped onto her captor for dear life.

Nora looked fit to burst into tears and Ruby was already crying. Most in the party were no strangers to loss and this brought up memories for everyone. 

“I like Mara better.” The young child mumbled after finally settling down into Yang’s arms.

“We’d better get out of here. I don’t want to wait around and see if those bandits are gonna come by and see if there’s anything left for them to get.”

Nodding in agreement the party continued outwards along their original path.

* * *

  
  


Blake settled down at the outside table in a huff. Weeks of work finding information about Adam’s White Fang and they’d barely been able to make any progress. Ilia interfered with them at every turn and vanished like a shadow in the night. Leads went dry and witnessed disappeared. They still had no proof that Corsac and Fennec held allegiance to Adam. 

“As long as they publicly stay loyal to Sienna there isn’t much. The Menagerie Guards are all loyal to my father, but the White Fang under Sienna have a significant presence here as well. Unless we can proof they are traitors, we can’t touch them.”

“But they’re so creepy!” Sun exclaimed as the waitress stopped by, distributing their tropical drinks in front of them. 

“Oh they’re definitely schemers. I just hope Dad’s people make some progress on Ilia’s scroll.”

Sun tried hard to be casual as he asked, “Yeah. You and that Ilia chick seem to have quite the history together. What’s up with that?”

Blake rolled her eyes but nonetheless answered, “Ilia is a chameleon faunus that served the White Fang as an infiltrator agent, like me. We worked together on quite a few missions actually.”

“So is she one of those true believers that Adam is collecting or what?”

“Hm, I don’t think so. She always seemed lost to me. So angry and upset. It’s not that she hated humans, at least not at first. Her parents died at a dust mine in Atlas, at the time she was attending a human academy there. When her supposed friends laughed at the tragedy she snapped.”

“Whoa. That’s…..” Sun stared down in thought. The faunus prejudice had never been something he had been acutely aware of. He grew up an orphan on the streets of Vacuo, the kids then didn’t have time for discrimination because their focus was on survival. He had seen more example of racism in these last few months than he ever had growing up. 

He’d heard people’s stories about why they want to live on their own apart from humans or why they hate them. But every time he couldn’t help but think of his team, and his partner. He knew that a lot of humans were bad but the opposite was true. And even among the faunus there were good and evil and everything in between. For the life of him he couldn’t see any kind of answer.

“Yeah. That incident made her angry. I don’t think she knows what to do with that anger anymore.”

“Wouldn’t that have made her just hate humans?”

“I always thought so but eventually I saw her save a human child that was going to be caught in the crossfire. It was around then that I started having doubts about the White Fang itself. Innocents should never have been involved.”

“Yeah. That Adam guy turned out to be a real dick.”

She stared at him until he winced and then rolled her eyes but not refuting what he said. It was a conversation they’d had a hundred times before. She took a long sip from her drink and took a look at her scroll. Suddenly she stood up in shock, holding her scroll.

“Sun. Dad says they cracked the scroll.”

Slowly the monkey faunus’ eyes went wide, “Sweet let’s go!” Dropping some lien on the table the pair took off heading for the Belladona Estate.  
  


* * *

Jaune stared a the campfire the party had made that night. They were a number of miles away from Shion in a clearing they had found. Mara sat in Yang’s lap with the older girl’s arms wrapped around her. Ruby sat polishing and caring for her weapon while Neo sat in a tree, her legs swinging back and forth. Nora kept looking from Ren to the child they had rescued and the man in question himself sat in a more stoic silence then normal. He seemed to be brooding over something but refused to talk about it and while it was clear the red head knew what was wrong she was respecting his desire and not talking about it. 

Young Mara was busing eating some of the dried meat that they had brought along. The girl had become attached the the blond during their trek as she was carried. Though she hadn’t laughed Yang had gotten the girl to relax and open up a little by telling her stories, mostly embarrassing ones about Ruby causing the younger sister to complain loudly. Jaune had even chipped in with stories about him and his family camping near there.

“She really likes you, Yang.” Jaune piped up, eager for something to break the oppressive atmosphere. 

“Heck yeah she does. I didn’t raise Rubes for nothin’” She flashed her trademarked fearless smile. 

“You raised her?” 

“Huh? You didn’t know? You remember how we’re half-sisters right?” Jaune nodded. “So _my_ mom, Raven, was with Dad first. But she just up and left when I was born. That’s when Summer, Ruby’s mom, came in to help raise me. Shortly after Ruby was born. I consider her my mom too and she never treated me any different either.”

Yang’s smile grew bitter at that and Jaune pieced together some of what happened but had to ask, “So what happened to her?”

“She was a huntress see? One day she left for a mission and never came back. Dad never talked about it, he was a mess actually. It’s the reason I mainly ended up raising Ruby.” 

Everyone had stopped and listened to Yang. Ruby’s hand hovered above her weapon with a complicated expression that melted into a small smile as she went back to what she was doing, feeling no need to comment.

“Ren and I grew up around here.” Ren’s head whipped up to stare at his long time partner with wide eyes. 

“I was an orphan for a long time. I wandered from village to village getting chased out. I scavenged moldy food and ate scraps. Eventually one of the villages I was in was attacked by Grimm. That night I met Renny and he saved us with his awesome semblance! You know the rest!”

“No they don’t, Nora.” Ren added with a sigh, now feeling the need to talk about it, “The village was Kuroyuri. My father was the village’s best hunter, not a huntsman. My mother died when our house collapsed from a giant Nevermore and my father got me out of there. He gave me his knife and told me to save myself. Just after that I met Nora hiding under a house and we fled together.”

“What made you two want to become huntsmen and huntresses?” Ruby spoke up having stowed Rose Thorn back into it’s carry form and holstered on her thigh.

“Nothing special really. I became a hunter because I didn’t want to let anyone go through what I did. If I could help it.”

“And Renny would be useless without me so I just HAD to become a huntress!” Nora added with her typical excitement causing Ruby to smile and everyone else smiled. Jaune paused to look up at their most mysterious addition sitting up in a tree. He met Neo’s eyes as she was looking down at them with interest. She gave him a smile and leaned back, falling off the branch but her legs caught her. She spun down and flipped onto her feet with all the grace of a cat. The multi colored girl’s hips sashayed as she walked into her tent.

Even then Jaune still knew next to nothing about the woman who was now a constant sight among their group. He got that she constantly angered Yang and even tested Ruby’s patience but he still couldn’t think of one good reason that the woman continued to accompany them. She was mute and only ever conveyed messages through her scroll if it was important.

Jaune looked back to the group to find Ruby with a pout and Yang looking irritated. 

“What?”


	12. On the Wings of the Night

Mara giggled from atop Jaune’s shoulders as she pinned her light pink hair behind her ears. It had fallen all about when the blond had taken off with his passenger, sprinting down the trail while she squealed in excitement. A huntsman could run much faster than a normal person and the boy had come a long way from what he had used to be. 

Ruby Rose dashed by in a shower of petals that the young child tried to catch as they dissolved on the air. 

The group was finally reaching their detour, Outpost Kutsuri, a village that served as a common stopover for huntsmen. The trip had taken an extra five days for the group in which they had encountered a surprising amount of Grimm. It was worrying how much the monsters’ activity had spiked, Shion was supposed to be a town big enough to have bullhead docks. 

Kutsuri was smaller but possessed a CCT extension tower of its own. As well as other commodities aimed towards hunters like dust shops and places to get weapons repaired. There was also what was known as a hunting lodge in the town. This building acted as a deployment center for huntsmen and huntresses looking for new assignments.

Jaune slowed down as they crossed the threshold of Kutsuri, looking up at the still giggling child upon his shoulders he felt his heart lighten a little bit. The young girl acts normal enough during the day but at night the terrors return to her. Most nights she cries herself to sleep and only ever calmed down when Yang slept with her. 

No one would say it be the two had gotten attached to each other so much so that Jaune was the only other one she wasn’t reserved with. Ruby always looked glum when Mara turned shy around her and Yang just couldn’t help laughing herself silly at that. He wasn’t the only one who noticed that Yang had gotten attached too.

Something about Mara had stirred both Big Sister Yang and Momma Yang and the combination of the two was so fierce it was palpable. The little girl had even gotten Neo to crack an honest smile when she pointed at the mute and exclaimed that their hair almost matched and that the older woman’s was very pretty. 

Yang jogged up to him followed by Ruby and Nora, who was dragging a Ren who just couldn’t seem to be bothered with going faster than a walk. The red-head had decided otherwise. The watchman atop the gate offered them greetings and they asked him where the lodge was. After getting the directions they headed towards the center of town. The lodge was adjacent to the CCTE Tower. The relay tower was much shorter than the main ones in the kingdoms. The tower itself was a fusion of wood and metal, with much of the base being made of wood reinforced with metal and it turning into just metal towards the top. 

The group saw the lodge and Jaune couldn’t help but stop for a moment. This was where real Hunters gathered. It was a large two story building with a sign above the double doors leading in that consisted of the crests of all four kingdoms. Jaune let Mara down off of his shoulders as they all entered the lodge.

The first thing he noticed was a large lobby with a counter. Behind it was a bored looking, well muscled, bald man. He perked up when he noticed the group come in but immediately turned dour when he no doubt noticed the age of the group. Off to the left was a set of four large holographic boards that they recognized. They were the mission boards that even Beacon had but this one was no doubt fairly localized. 

“Oi, if yer lookin’ fer the inn it’s down the street on the left.”

Yang strutted up to the counter, putting on her typical winning smile and putting one arm up on the surface, “We’re here for information, plus we have important news. We just came from Shion.”

The man’s interest was visibly peaked, apparently Shion going silent had not gone unnoticed. 

“Shion’s been attacked and destroyed by bandits and grimm.” Yang continued after the man had nodded that he was listening. The man’s face turned pale at the news.

“Roran! Get the fuck down here, we got a problem!” The man turned around and shouted out into the stairwell near the counter before turning back to the group, “Roran’ll be down in a sec, you can tell him everything. I gotta go and make some calls. Mistral’s gotta be notified.”

Before the man could go off they heard cursing come from upstairs as a yawning man appeared from the second floor. This man had dark green hair that was fairly short but with a small braided lock hanging down by his temple, “Berg I swear if you saw a mouse again… who the hell’re they?”

“They say they came from Shion and that it’s been destroyed.” 

The younger man’s face instantly became alert and more serious as he regarded the visitors more closely, his eyes flicking from face to face, “Ah shit. Alright kids come on to the meeting room, it looks like we have some things to discuss.” 

Roran led the group to a room that was aligned with four couches arranged in a loose square and a large table in the middle. Each couch was big enough for four people and Jaune sat down first. Mara took the spot next to him and Yang next to her. Ruby, Nora, and Ren took the couch next to theirs while Neo stood arms crossed against the wall directly behind the blond. After they were all comfortable Roran asked them to tell them what happened. Everyone’s eyes fell on Jaune and with a sigh he started explaining.

“We visited Shion in order to take the bullhead there to Mistral. However when we arrived the town was already gone.” The blond swallowed past the lump in his throat, forcing the words out as he remembered the gruesome scenes, “There were dead bandits everywhere as well as huntsmen and civilians. We found a huntsman and he told us what happened right before he passed.”

Roran was nodding along, “Survivors?”

“The only one we could find was Amaranth here.” Jaune put his hand atop the little girl’s head. 

“Shit.” With a sigh he looked at the group, “You guys seem a little young to be hunters yerselves.”

“We’re in training. We were at Beacon Academy.”

Roran let out a low whistle at that, “Yer an awful long way from home kids. Anima’s been a dangerous place since Beacon, everyone’s worried and that just makes the Grimm act up.” He put a hand to his chin, thinking for a moment, “Tell me, what’s the truth about this whole Atlas deal? Everyone saw the videos, those tin-cans of Atlas were turning around and slaughtering people.”

“It wasn’t Atlas!” Ruby spoke up, her eyes burning, “Someone took control of all those robots and made them kill people. They wanted this chaos and uncertainty.”

The man leaned back slinging one arm over the couch as he considered the young lady in front of him and simply nodded at what she said, neither agreeing or disagreeing but filing away the information.The door clicked at it was opened and the bald man, Berg, came in again sat down next to Roran. 

“Got off the comms with Haven, a bullhead will be on it’s way tomorrow to pick you up. They wanna get your views and know about any survivors.” Berg said as he sat down. 

“Good. Little Amaranth here seems to be the sole survivor, “ Roran motioned to the little girl, “They can take her to safety in Mistral as well. Figure out if she has any relatives and such.”

“Thank you. Mr. Roran, Mr. Berg.”

The two men blinked owlishly at Jaune before looking at each other.

“Roran, you didn’t do introductions did you.”

“Slipped my mind, Berg.” With an apologetic smile he turned to the group, “My name is Roran Oak and this bald softie-”

“Hey!”

“Is Berg Kreme. He may look mean but really he’s a soft hearted fellow with a heart of gold.”

Berg smacked Roran upside the back of his head, “Oi! What’re you gonna do if that ruins my reputation? I’ve got an image to protect!” 

The two paused and one look at the wide eyes of the teenagers in the room had them in an uproar, laughing themselves to tears. Ruby cast a worried glance at Jaune and Yang slid Mara just a little bit closer to her.

“Alright alright, For tonight we’ll put you guys up. We got the room since the only Hunters in this town is my team. I’ll get you keys in a bit. Feel free to visit anything in town though.” 

Jaune flopped onto the soft bed once they all had their own rooms, Mara was staying with Yang, and felt himself growing more tired by the second. It had been weeks since they had last slept on a bed. Without even bothering to take off his armor the blond felt his eyes grow heavy and close as he drifted off into slumber.

* * *

  
  


Weiss entered the hangar bay, Myternaster in one hand and suitcase in the other. Her hands were sweaty, clammy, and her heart beat with nervousness. Taking a deep breath she steadied herself as she waited for the pilot to arrive like Klein had told her he would. She took the moment to reflect on why she was doing something she had never really thought to do before, openly defying her father.

Then, after being confined to her room after the events at the charity concert, Weiss had received a message from General Ironwood. 

_ Dear Weiss, _ _   
  
_

_ I am sorry about what happened tonight and hope to cheer you up with this news of your team. Miss Rose and Miss Xiao-Long along with several other companions were spotted entering Anima by some of my intelligence officers as they were gearing up to pull back to Atlas. No matter what they are doing your team seems to be in good health. _

_ Despite what may happen from now on, know that you have my support and my wishes for your continued good health. _

_ Best Wishes, _

_ Gen. James Ironwood _

She’d read through the puzzling message before finally piecing together what the good General had really wanted to convey to her. Her team was in Anima, moving towards Mistral, with some kind of objective. Now she also knew that he was on her side at least, in what she didn’t know but at least he didn’t condemn her. 

She had gathered one thing from his message though. If they were heading towards Mistral they must have had a reason and she could only think of one reason they would do so on their own. And if her team needed to be in Mistral then so did she, her father could freeze on a mountain for all she cared. Her team was the most important family she had now besides Winter. 

A man in a flight suit walked into the hanger with some kind of manifest in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. When he noticed he started walking over, sipping his coffee along the way.

“Hello miss. And please, spare the introductions. The less either of us knows about the other, the better.” After a nod from the white haired girl, “Alright so you want passage to Mistral and I’m freighting this shipment of dust there. I’ve already been paid to take you so just sit tight in the hold and make yourself comfortable. Oh and if we get caught, you stowed away.”

He stood until he got another nod from her and then waved her towards his. Weiss took one look back the way she had come before following him. Another deep breath and she followed after the pilot with her head held high.

* * *

  
  


Jaune’s eyes snapped open to the sounds he heard, immediately sitting up. Listening he heard shouting and the sounds of alarms. The sounds were punctuated by the sounds of gunfire and some explosions.

His door nearly burst from its hinges as Ruby flowed into the room, her face was creased with worry, “Jaune, the town is under attack by Grimm!”

“What?! How many?”

“A lot.” She looked at him and the worry was clear in her eyes as her prosthetic hand gripped the doorframe, “Hundreds.”

His heart dropped into his feet and he could feel the blood drain from his face. Hundreds of Grimm just didn’t attack a town like this. This was insane, a nightmare. Jaune grabbed Crocea Mors and forced his hand to be steady. This was a town for hunters, they would be fine, right?

Taking the stairs two at a time he met the others in the lobby, Roran was standing there with a halberd in hand and several pistols with bandoliers tied to his chest. Even Neo was there her sardonic smile gone and in its place a look of dead seriousness. Once everyone had gathered around Roran started explaining the situation.

“We’ve got hundreds of grimm outside the wall. Militia are on it with guns holding them back and my team is lending a hand where they can, trying to prevent a breach. I had Berg take Amaranth to the shelter with the other civilians. Anyone with range I want interspersed on the walls. Try and maximise your fire and keep the Grimm off the ramparts. Anyone who’s melee only will patrol for clusters of Grim that may make it over the wall. Got it? I’m trusting you guys to handle yourselves alright?” 

Without another word he took off into the night filled with shouting and gunfire. A loud wailing scream came from far off and Ren stiffened for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Neo was already gone so Ren and Nora ran off into the night leaving Yang, Jaune, and Ruby standing just in front of the lodge.

“Alright I guess we should take up different parts of the wall. I’ll head towards the west wall and see where Roran’s team wants me, you guys wanna split up to the North and South walls”

“That’s as good a plan as ever Jaune. I’m ready to annihilate these Grimm. They think they can attack a town Mara’s in twice?” Yang slammed her fists together, eyes already scarlet. 

Ruby looked over and noticed someone sprinting towards them, their long brown coat flapping behind them. It looked like it might be one of the others on Roran’s team. She looked back to Jaune, about to ask a question when something didn’t feel right and she looked at the man approaching only he didn’t seem like he was interested in stopping.

Jaune must have noticed it himself because he looked at the man too just in time to see him swing his gauntlet weapon at her. The blond man stepped in front, shield deployed when she wasn’t looking and blocked the attack as the man flipped up and over their heads to land on the other side of them. A manic grin was plastered across his face as his yellow eyes took them in. The front of his jacket was open exposing his bare chest and Ruby could make out massive scars criss crossing his midsection.

With a giggle he sprung at them once again but they were ready for it this time. Jaune brought his shield up and charged it forward hoping to disrupt the man’s momentum but in a display of agility he hopped onto the shield and peered at the young hunter with an interested expression before flipping away as Yang’s fist sailed through his previous position. Ruby appeared behind the man drawing Rose Thorn out into a quick slash that the man avoided by ducking low. The young girl barely managed to get her sword back into a position to avoid a full blow from the man’s blades but it still scratched into her aura. 

A sweeping strike and the man disengaged once more, giggling to himself.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this? We have enough problems with the Grim!” A flash of heat came from the already furious Yang.

“Hehe. Who I am matters not to you. Not you, though you do interest me. No, I am here for you.” He pointed first to Yang, then Jaune, and finally to Ruby who had assumed a more defensive posture between her sister and friend. 

“Me?” She was confused, she had never met this man before and couldn’t think of much that she had done that was worth being attacked over, especially during a Grimm incursion.

The man slapped a hand to the side of his face, his eyes wide as he cackled with laughter, “You…. you don’t even know do you? Oh how interesting this must be. As for why I’m here? Well I’m here to whisk you away with me.”

Yang stepped in front of her sister, barely restrained fury dancing in her eyes as she looked at the would-be kidnapper, “I’m afraid my sister doesn’t wanna be whisked by anyone.”

“Then, I’ll have to take her by force.” The brown haired man said as he inspected his nails, as if disinterested.

Jaune stepped in front of the two girls blocking his vision even further, “We won’t let you.”

The man stopped his inspection and looked over at the blond man, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A smile spread over his face as he replied.

“Good.”

And he disappeared.

He moved so quickly none of them had caught it but when he started swinging at the back of Jaune’s neck Yang was there to shove her first through his face. Before following through all the way the man flipped back towards Ruby, attacking her with his blades again while in mid-air. She only deflected one while the rest landed on her shoulders being absorbed by her aura.

By this time Jaune had spun around and was advancing with a series of slashes, stabs, and shield bashes that the man deftly avoided while kicking Yang in the stomach as she approached from the side. Ruby appeared in a flash of petals behind the man and unleashed her quickest attack while his leg was extended. A clang resounded as her blade met resistance and they could all see the chitinous tail that extended from the man. 

“Surprise!” With a maniacal grin that was quickly growing old the man turned his head to leer at the young woman. A casual flick of his tail and she stumbled back.

“A faunus? Are you with the White Fang?” Yang and Jaune exchanged glances and looked back at the man who was shrugging off his coat.

“Ha! Plastic soldiers! No. MY heart and body belong only to my Goddess.” The faunus reached his hands up toward the sky as if he was hoping for a revelation.

“Cinder.” Ruby spat out as if it was a vile insult. The man’s face fell at the mention of that name. 

“Only in her wildest dreams!” A sneer crossed his face and his voice rose with vehemence as he attacked again, appearing in front of Ruby once more attacking with a flurry of acrobatic kicks and slashes from his gauntlets. 

The young girl was losing aura to the man fast under his rapid assault, Yang and Jaune leaped in to help her. His tail wrapped around the blond brawler’s fist and he kicked the blond knight’s shield so hard he went careening into the wall of the lodge. With a flick his tail threw Yang just as far away.

Ruby slash at the man again and again but he deflected all of them until he locked her weapon onto his. His tail flashed out, stinger first, towards her. Both of the blonds cried out as they saw him strike but leapt out of the way at the last second as a large sword impacted where he had been standing just a fraction of a second earlier. 

Alighting on top of it was a man that Yang and Ruby knew well and they shouted out his name, “Uncle Qrow!” 

With a trademark Branwen smirk, the huntsman reached behind him and pulled out a red object that Ruby recognized just as much as her uncle.

“Crescent Rose!” The man tossed it to his niece who caught it and cradled it in her arms. With a flick and a twirl she had the scythe deployed, it’s tip buried in the ground with a thunk, “Ruby Rose is back in action!”


	13. A Mind Full of Scorpions

Ren turned from his position atop the ramparts, placed near the front gate, when he heard the horrendous crack. The enormous gate to the town splintered under the force applied, wood groaning under the strain of Grimm assault. His hands went still, his weapons silent, as the entrance was breached with a sound he had not heard before. Pieces of the gate flew in every direction and the archway above it crumbled to the ground.

“Mr. Berg!” The young huntsman shouted out as he watched the bald man tumble into the spreading dust. Shortly a bone chilling shriek rent the air and Ren found himself rooted to the spot. It was impossible to not remember what had made that sound. The rider-creature Grimm that had caused the devastation of his home ten years ago strode out of the dust with methodical hoofbeats.

It’s head twitch inhumanly while the horse-like second head snorted, a black puff of smoke flowing out of it’s nostrils. Dragging behind it was two long arms and trapped in the grip was Berg, blood flowing from his head. 

Another piercing scream and the beast flung the huntsmen out into a nearby building. A series of thunks sounded from nearby and several bright pink explosions went off in the monster’s face causing it to wail in pain and lash out randomly with it’s elastic arms. Nora came running up besides Ren one hand clamping down on his shoulder. 

One look said it all and he was shaking his head, clearing himself of what held him in place. There were no other hunters on this part of the wall and it would be up to them to stop the Nuckelavee. After a quick nod of thanks, the black haired boy jumped from the ramparts down towards the creature. Hitting the ground, Ren started running in a circle and firing at it. Nora jumped off right after him while he had it’s attention and swung her hammer down at the horse-like head.

With a quick reaction Nuckelavee lashed out with one of it’s whiplike limbs and sent the red headed girl flying across the ground and with it’s other hand swept Ren off of his feet, grabbing his legs. His head cracked against the ground as the creature flung him into a nearby building. 

He gasped as he got up and stared out the hole he had made through the wall. It stood there, neck cracking as it’s head twitched to and fro as if waiting for them. The creature’s patience didn’t last long as it screamed and charged the building Ren was inside. With a quick rear onto it’s hindquarters the Nuckelavee slammed it’s front legs down onto, and through, the roof. 

Ren dashed under it’s legs as the ceiling came down, slashing at various points on it’s underbelly. The hide was far tougher than he realized and his cuts were shallow and weak as the hunter dived out behind the creature. He rolled into a sprint to gain more distance before it turned towards him again.

His mind flashed back to his childhood and the place where his parents had died. It was in that village that he had first met Nora amidst the screams, flames, and death all around him. Back then he had quailed in fear as the people he knew were cut down one after the other by the Grimm. No more, he decided, he had become a huntsman to prevent tragedies like that and he refused to let it happen once again.

With an uncharacteristic growl he leapt forward towards the monster, he could feel his teeth being barred as he unloaded yet another burst into the flank of the creature, his vision narrowing he barely noticed his long-time partner shouting his name. 

The Nuckelavee reared up as he approached and Ren was forced to dodged to the side as the fore-hooves hammered down on the spot he had just occupied. The whiplike arm caught him in his blindside, stumbling him. The black-haired huntsmen looked up just in time to see the head of the horse half exhale a thick black cloud towards him. 

The caustic cloud impacted something and was directed harmlessly around him. The object was a pink umbrella held by a small, scowling girl in a bowler hat. Twirling the umbrella she cast a glance at him and then looked back to the creature before slowly drawing forth her weapon from it’s hidden sheath.

Before the monster could attack this new threat several fireballs impacted it on the side eliciting a pained shriek. Ren looked in the direction they had come from and spotted three figures coming towards them. One was a man and identifiable as Roran while the two women, unmistakably huntresses, were unknown. Doubtless they were the rest of the man’s team.

One huntress wore a black dress with glimmering orange designs embroidered all around it and atop her silver hair, which was in a front braid, was a witches hat. Ren stared at the object in her hands and confirmed that yes, indeed, it was an old fashioned broom. The other woman had very short, dark hair with bulging muscles that would have made Cardin weep in jealousy. Resting casually on her shoulders was a massive kunabo, a spike club, made of metal.

“Silvia. Olivia.” Roran spoke, hefting his halberd, “You two take the gates and stem the tide of Grimm coming in. The kids and I’ll deal with the Nuck.”

With nods of confirmation the two women rushed off and passed the creature, towards the ruined gate. The Nuckelavee made to attack them as they rushed by but it’s attention was grabbed as a streak of green and silver rushed forward, scoring a deep cut across the creatures chest. With a roar it flailed at the huntsman who dodged the strikes almost effortlessly.

The beast hesitated as Roran stepped back and took position next to his younger proteges, “Alright kids, I need your heads in the game. This guy’s Dangerous with a capital D.”

Ren got up and stood next to Neo and Roran with Nora coming up and hefting Magnhild, “Let’s break it’s legs!”

  
  


* * *

“Hey Squirt. Firecracker.” Qrow said, his eyes focused on the opponent before him, “I know you prob’ly got questions but that’s for later. Right now we gotta deal with this guy.”

The man in question’s smile grew wider at the huntsman’s gaze, “A true hunter enters the fray!” 

“So, who’re you? Since you seem to know me.” 

“Tyrian Callows, at your service.” A deep bow with his hand across his chest, “I am but a servant of her holiness.”

“Salem.” The name was spit out like an insult and Ruby looked to her uncle at the unfamiliar name. The girl’s mind raced as she worked through everything she knew. It wasn’t Cinder’s doing but the man was definitely related to her. From his attitude she assumed they were rivals, but if they were enemies he wouldn’t be trying to take her like this, would he? 

She shook her head and dispelled the thoughts, tucking them away to focus on the fight in front of her. Picking up Crescent Rose, which she was euphoric at holding again, she positioned the blade and barrel behind her with one hand on the firing mechanism and another on the bolt.

With a cackle the man charged at her uncle, the biggest threat. Ruby spared a look at Yang, who was charging towards the man, and Jaune who sat with his guard up. Even not knowing what to do the blond boy nodded at her, signaling that he had her back.

While Qrow and Tyrian were trading blows Yang came in like a rocket. Just before impact as the faunus raised his tail to guard, the blond shot both her gauntlets down at the ground and launched herself in a flip above his head. Firing down mid-air the man was force to bring his blades about to block the shots which QQrow took advantage of, kicking him hard in the stomach and sending him flying across the the battlefield that was the street they stood in.

“Go reinforce the wall kids! I’ll handle this!” Qrow shouted back at them, causing Ruby and Jaune to meet each other’s eyes across the street.A short nod and the set off towards front entrance to Kutsuri. 

Tyriasn ran to the side, firing at the fleeing pair. The elder huntsman couldn’t get there in time to block the shots that flew towards them. A grunt sounded from behind them and Ruby turned back to see her sister’s golden mane, her back towards them and arms blocking her face. She had taken the shots on her aura.

“Go! I’ll stay and help Uncle Qrow, you guys help against the Grimm!” She turned her head towards them and they could see the crimson of her eyes, “Don’t worry Ruby. This guy won’t get past me.”

With urging from her best guy friend Ruby tore her eyes away from the fight and set them on the gateway, the top of which could be seen above the buildings. Or at least it would have been if it was still there. A spike tore through her heart as she realised the gate was breached and shot off in that direction. Determined to save as many lives as possible. Jaune ran behind her but soon faded as she but her speed to the fullest.

* * *

  
  


Yang turned from watching her sister leave back to the dead man before her. She was angrier than she had ever been before. This wasn’t like the time someone had cut a lock of her hair, or when she had found out what had happened to Ruby on top of Beacon Tower. No, someone had tried to kidnap her little sister right in front of her. Her blood boiled and fists ached to sink into the man’s face. 

Every fiber of her being screamed that she needed to kill this man to keep her family safe. She could vaguely hear her uncle shouting at her but she ignored it as she zeroed in on the brown haired man her uncle was engaging with. The two seemed to be on even footing and Yang was sure that her uncle could take him but the berzerker wasn’t going to leave anything to chance. She was going to make sure he wouldn’t be able to get to Ruby even if she had to put the guy down.

Lowering her stance the blond launched off towards the man, coming in low and under his guard. Tyrina’s eyes flickered towards her and his tail rushed to meet her. She could see it clearly, it was moving slower than before and she dodged it by a fraction, feeling the wind of it’s passing on her cheek. Her right fist rocketed into his side, catching him off guard but it wasn’t enough.

The man bounced back with the punch and tried to take some distance but she wouldn’t let up. She swept at his legs with hers and he jumped, delivering a vicious kick to her head, causing her aura to deep even more dangerously low.

Qrow stepped with his weapon in sword form. Wielding the massive weapon with incredible speed he pushed the man back as they traded blow for blow, their aura flaring with each hit. Not one to be left out Yang used Ember Celica to propel herself up and attempted an axe kick to the top of Tyrian’s head. He caught the kick on the arm and paid for it by taking a jab at the midriff from Qrow.

Yang still shook off the incessant words coming from her uncle, crimson eyes burning in the night as she focused solely on her prey. 

Tyrian managed to lock his blades around Qrow’s disarming him with a twist of the body. His victorious smirk was wiped from his face quite literally when the huntsman punched him straight in the face and continued the combo on the surprised faunus. He wasn’t even allowed to recover when Qrow went to retrieve his weapon as Yang once again rushed him in a flurry of combos. 

Left, right, left, right, kick, uppercut. 

Yang flowed together her moves, her mind clear and focused. She had gone so far into the rage she had come out the other side. A calm anger she had never felt before filled with one, deadly, purpose. She no longer felt the light, glance blows he landed on her. Damage to him being her only goal.

With one final burst she aimed all her power into her right fist. Her balance failed her as a small piece of rubble shifted under foot. The small stagger cost as the faunus stepped aside, her fist sailing harmlessly by and her semblance once more petered out, it’s power spent.

_ It burns. _

That was her first thought as she looked down at  _ where  _ it burned. Something was buried in her stomach. The brown appendage was attached to the manic man standing before her. It was his tail. The hot pain blossomed in her stomach.

“Aaaaaaaargh!”

They both screamed. Her at having been stabbed and him when a large sword slammed down and severed the offending appendage. Tyrian stumbled back, cursing. With promises of vengeance and threats the man fled back into the darkness as Qrow stood over his bleeding niece.

Slowed he lowered himself to her. She couldn’t remember having fallen to her knees. 

“It’s okay firecracker. I’m here. He’s gone.” It was all she could do to nod. The burning was spreading like fire, “I’m gonna pull it up and bandage you up.” He tore off his cape, ripping it into strips.

“Take a deep breath and grit your teeth.” Nodding, Yang pulled a lungful of air and clamp her mouth shut. In one pull the huntsman pulled the stinger free with a sickening sliding feeling accompanied by pain, lots of pain. The slash she had gotten from Adam was nowhere near being stabbed like this. 

It stung when he put pressure on the wound and dressed it, though the burning sensation was still there. Qrow slung one of her arms over his shoulders and picked her up in his arms. Quickly he took her inside the hunter’s lodge, laying her down on the couch. 

“I’m gonna go help the wall and make sure he doesn’t go for Ruby.” When she tried to get up he pushed her back down, “No. I’m sorry Yang. I’ll return as soon as I can.”

Even as he rushed out the double doors Yang could feel her strength being drained away by the fire spreading from her gut. She could only lay there in the dark as screams rent the air and bullets responded to the nightmare outside the walls. Sweat soon caked her forehead and her breathing became labored. 

In the dark she whimpered.

  
  


* * *

Ruby skipped along the rooftops at semblence enhanced speeds. The familiar weight of Crescent Rose in her hands and her new companion, Rose Thorn, at her hip. Wide gaps she cleared with a proppelling shot from her scythe. 

The reaper skid to a halt at the edge of a rooftop, the battlefield of the gate came into view.

It was chaos.

Dozens of Grim were spilling through the gate and only two huntresses were there to keep it in check, losing battle that it was. Not far away was a large, horse-like, Grimm in the midst of death throes. It’s arms were missing as it screamed in futility at the man in front of it. With a single slice the huntsman, Ren she noticed, decapitated it. An incredible amount of black smoke oozed out of the dematerializing body.

Using Crescent Rose to slow her descent Ruby jumped off the building to rejoin her friends. Ren had his hands on his knees and was catching his breath when she ran up to him.

“Ren! Nora! Are you guys alright?! What was that thing?”

“That was the Nuckelavee. A dangerous Grimm that has plagued this region for decades.” It was Roran who answered her. He was also out of breath and leaning on his halberd slightly, “Where are the others that were with you?”

“That’s right! Some strange man attacked us. It sounded like he wanted to kidnap me. Uncle Qrow showed up but Yang stayed behind to help my uncle deal with him.” Ren and Nora shared a concerned look while Roran’s eyes grew hard.

“What about Jaune?”

“Here!” Said boy exclaimed as he ran up, panting. He had sprinted the whole way and even then was no match for Ruby’s speed. She laughed nervously and apologized for leaving him behind.

“Alright people. The town’s still in trouble and we have a job to do.” All of the young hunters nodded at once and readied their weapons. With a deep breath Ruby shifted Crescent Rose behind her. Jaune put his shield up, blade held high, point forward. Ren reloaded and Nora cracked her neck. 

As one they charged into the melee and she quickly lost sight of the others as she focused on the task at hand. A Beowolf sprung up in front of her, claws sweeping in to gouge out her eyes. Ducking low the young reaper cut it down at the knees and ended it’s life by burying the tip of her scythe in it’s chest.

A fireball came out and incinerated the Boarbatusk that was about to charge her and a cheerful woman with silver hair and a broom. She cheerfully waved at the younger girl before casually planting the handle of her broom into a nearby Beowolf, a spike emerging from the tip. Pulling it out and spinning it like a baton the bristles of the broom glowed and she batted a fireball at another Grimm.

Ruby stopped and was almost slammed into by an Ursa, would have been if it hadn’t had it’s head smashed in by an incredibly muscular woman wielding a large club. 

“Keep your head in the game kid.” With just a terse sentence the woman was gone leaving Ruby to slice an incoming Bewolf from shoulder to hip, bisecting the creature. One after another the young girl slaughtered the creatures of Grimm but when she cut one down another emerged. 

After her fifteenth kill Ruby turned to the next threat, an Ursa. She shifted to the side dodging it’s clumsy attack and taking it’s arm in return. The creature howled and the reaper drew her weapon back for another beheading slice. A sudden pain lanced through her left arm. The artificial arm seized up, reacting to her as she felt the phantom pain. 

The large creature howled in pain and swung down with it’s arm before being cut to ribbons by a series of slashes from a scythe. Her Uncle Qrow stepped from behind the creature, his face a forced smirk.

“C’mon Squirt. How much am I gonna have to save your life?” She gave him a quick pout before firing Crescent Rose at another Beowolf.

“Ugh. That wasn’t my fault!”

“Whatever you say kiddo. Listen Yang took a hit, she’s resting in the lodge. So don’t worry.”

She spared a glance at him from the corner of her eye, worried regardless but she trusted her uncle if he said she was fine then she was. 

She turned back to the horde before them and took another, steadying, breath before swinging into action again.

  
  


* * *

Weiss hurt all over. 

Her aura was low. Gone in fact, if her her scroll was to be believed. She tried to lift herself up but froze when she heard the crunching of footsteps. 

_ Grimm?  _

If it were then this might be her fate. She didn’t have enough aura to withstand much of an assault and who knew what kind of injuries she might have had from the crash. Her rapier, Myternaster, was impaled a good distance away. She could reach it, provided her legs worked. If not she’d be cut down by a Beowolf before she could make it.

“Search for survivors and dig out any salvage you can.” It was a deep, feminine voice that sounded out and Weiss cheered internally at that fact. Humans meant help. Humans didn’t mean certain death. 

“Pleas. Help!” She raised her weak voice as loud as it could carry. Someone heard it because she heard the footsteps hasten towards her. Several pairs entered her vision and she looked up. The two men looked rough and carried crudely made weapons. The turned to someone she couldn’t see yet.    
  


“What d’you think boss?”

A woman entered her vision. Blood red eyes and long black hair hung down to the small of her back. She was dressed in matching colors, carrying a white helmet with red markings. 

“I think we just hit the jackpot.”   
  


Weiss’ last thoughts as the boot rushed towards her face was that the woman looked strikingly familiar.

* * *

As dawn’s first rays touched the village of Kutsuri the one thing that hung in the air was silence. The din of battle had subsided and the victors had been determined. Ruby Rose sank to her knees, her body shaking from the exhaustion of the past several hours of fighting. The other hunters were in similar states. Jaune was splayed out on the ground, chest heaving. The black mist of dissolving Grimm was thick in the air.

But even as exhausted as she was Ruby felt elated. The town would survive. It felt so good and her heart soared as she realized it was because of her and her friends. They had finally made a difference. Qrow and the other hunters could still move, though barely. But the rest of them were littering the ground and unable to move. 

Jaune crawled over to her and together they stood up, leaning on each other to support themselves with pure willpower. They slowly picked themselves up and started making their way towards the lodge. 

She had a sister to check on. 


	14. The Machinations of Fate

“Is she gonna be okay?” 

Ruby looked at the doctor who was looking carefully over Yang, her eyes watering and flinching at every labored breath her sister took. The young girl’s heart lurched sickenly in her chest and she felt Jaune’s grip around her shoulder tighten just a bit as if he sensed her worry.

The doctor turned around, stowing away the medical scroll into his inside pocket, “No. At the current rate of proliferation the ‘poison’ in her bloodstream will kill her in a matter of ten hours or so. Her aura isn’t regenerating because it’s busy fighting off whatever this is.”

The doctor turned to address Qrow who was worriedly fiddling with his flask but not drinking from it, “You said she was punctured by a scorpion faunus?” Qrow nodded, “Curious. Scorpion faunus, though possessing a stinger, do not actually produce a particularly effective poison. This. This is unlike anything I’ve seen. I can only assume it’s some kind of semblance.”

“No!” Ruby’s knees threatened to buckle and would have were it not for Jaune’s support. 

“I’ve given her some shots to boost aura regeneration but at this point it’s only a delaying tactic. Had the poison been administered when she had full aura or been at a significantly lower dosage then should would live but as it stands I have no way to combat the toxin. I am sorry.” 

With a quick bow the doctor excused himself from the room, leaving Yang on the medical bed she had been moved to. Ruby moved forward, he legs filled with lead, and grasped her sister’s hand. It felt hot to the touch and sweaty. She felt another hand on hers and looked over to see Jaune had taken both her and Yang’s into his own. 

The blond looked like he was on the verge of crying, his face scrunched up as his grip tightened around their hands.

“I’m sorry Yang.” Ruby whispered through the sobs. She fought to get the words out past the constriction in her throat, “This all my fault. I decided to come along. I decided to try and help. But in the end I was useless. And now you’re going to pay the price.”

The last of her words broke her and with a cry she pulled away and threw her arms around her sister. 

“Don’t leave me Yang. Please! I can’t do it. If you’re gone I just can’t do it anymore. I still have to say sorry. You still need to teach me to ride Bumblebee.” 

Jaune closed his eyes, “I can’t lose you either, Yang.” He whispered into the air, “You’re dear to me. Everyone is. Ruby, Ren, Nora, even Blake. I couldn’t stand losing any of you. Not like Pyrrha.”

The memories flashed through his mind. Of a bright red haired girl who had kissed him and then shoved him into a locker, sending him away to be safe while she went off to face danger alone. It wasn’t the same situation but it was. Yet again he hadn’t been around when a friend needed him and it hurt. It was devastating. If only he had stayed maybe he could have made a difference. 

The blonde looked over at Ruby, he back heaving as she cried over her sister. 

Anger. That surprised him. He was angry. It well within him like a tidal wave. Washing away his grief he just felt angry at everything. Pyrrha was gone and now Yang as well. When would it stop? Why did it alway have to happen to the people he loved. And that was it wasn’t it? Another person he loved would be taken away. So abruptly and without good reason. And just like with Pyrrha he had realized his feelings far too late.

  
  


“Not again.” He growled through his clenched teeth and closed eyes as he focused on the hand still in his, “This isn’t happening again Yang. I’m not losing anyone anymore. You hear me?!” The last had turned into a shout that startle everyone in the room. Tears were streaking down his face as everyone stared at him. 

He wished he could give his life for someone else. Even just a fraction. As long as it helped he would give whatever was necessary.

Ren from over the top of Nora’s head as she huddled in his arms and Qrow had looked up from his position at the base of a nearby wall. No doubt the man felt responsible for this. Ruby gasped as she looked at his hands.

They were glowing. And finally the sensation hit him. Like water flowing through his body and being pulled out through his hands it flowed into Yang. The white light turned yellow as it ran into her. Her breathing started becoming more even and the expression on her face relaxed, the pain looked to be leaving her body. For several minutes everyone stood there in mute shock as they didn’t dare interrupt what was happening. 

A spark of hope lit inside him and it was echoed in Ruby’s eyes.

“Kid. What are you doing?” It was Qrow who broke the spell of silence first and Jaune let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding when the light and feeling didn’t go away. 

“I don’t know.” 

Sparing a glance that flickered between Jaune and Yang, Qrow left the room saying he was going to get the doctor.

“Are you healing her?” The hope in Ruby’s voice was enough to break his heart.

“Not really. It doesn’t feel like that. It feels more like I’m giving her my aura.”

“Aren’t you worried you might run out?” The concern in Nora’s voice made him smile as he remember something he had been told when he first started Beacon.

“I’ve been told I have a lot of it. I guess I’m lucky I do, considering what’s happening now.”

“Your semblance is the best!” Ruby jumped up and hugged him tight, her eyes tightly close as she both cried and laughed.

“My semblance?”

“Of course it’s your semblance. This is something that should be impossible to do normally.” Even Ren smirked a little, affected by the sudden mood shift in the room. 

Jaune turned back to Yang, who’s hand was still in his as he focused again on the situation in front of him. He felt like he was pouring water into a hole that was slowly filling up. 

The doctor came rushing in and made an exclamation at what he saw. Slowly he approached his patient, examining the point of contact between the two before moving on to Yang. He opened her eyes and took a look before taking her pulse and humming to himself. Next he pulled out his scroll and check the info from the machines she was hooked up to. 

Everyone visibly relaxed when the doctor smiled at them, “Her aura is recovering at an incredible rate. Whatever you are doing boy, keep it up. If you can top off her aura it’ll be enough to allow her to fight the poison.”

Ruby gripped him tighter when she heard that. 

  
  


* * *

Everything was pain when she woke up, one ice-blue eyes snapping open to take quick stock of her surroundings even as her head pounded like a thick spike had been driven through her skull. 

She was in some sort of cage and when she made to move her hands she found them bound together. Panic welled up within her before she quelled it forcefully. Taking deep breaths she observed outside of her cage. Immediately surrounding her were tents and a large wooden barricade that acted a wall that her cage was set up against.

With some effort she sat up, her aura having repaired much of the damage from the crash but still leaving her muscles sore. It was then that she noticed the two men sitting on crates nearby. They were laughing and sharing a bottle of drink between them. One noticed her and slapped a hand against the other’s arm.

“Well look who finally woke up.” The pair grinned at her in a way that made her want to cover herself. Her mind worked overtime to come up with a solution but until she had more information she decided to play the dumb, rich girl card.

“W-where am I? What happened?” She put in a note of confusion into her voice and tinged it with a pleading whine.

“I never thought I’d see a Schnee in this camp, you know.” A female voice sounded out as another person rounded the corner. The woman had very short hair and a tattoo on her sleeveless arm. And arm that Weiss followed down to see Myternaster held in her hand. The sight of someone holding her weapon set her insides roiling. 

The two goons on the side straightened up when she arrived and Weiss made note of the fact that this woman must be important. She also filed away the name “Vernal” with it as the goons were muttering their apologies let the name slip. The woman before here had confidence and bordered on arrogance and Weiss may even have assumed it as such were it not for the way the woman carried herself. 

This woman was strong. 

She decided to abandon the facade of damsel in distress, knowing the woman probably wouldn’t let her guard down anyways, and straightened her back while setting her face into a scowl. Vernal stopped just a few feet shy of the cage and idly ran her finger down the length of Myternaster, causing Weiss’ teeth to grind together as she stood up, facing the woman.

“What. Do you want?” The woman was unfazed under her ice-cold glare. The woman merely smirked at her captive.

“Straight to the point. I can appreciate that. I like that look in your eyes. Heh, you’d do well around here, if you weren’t a Schnee.”

“I’d never sink to your level.” Weiss filled the sentence with as much vitriol as she could manage.

“Oh? And what is my level, Schnee?”

“Bandit, I’d guess. Typical enough scum.” 

That got a reaction out of the woman. Her smile turned to a sneer, “Not your typical bandit, little miss. We’re the Branwen Tribe.”

Vernal smirked when it was Weiss’ turn to lose her confident expression but not for the reason she thought. The white haired girl could remember that degenerate uncle of Ruby’s, and his name. Not that she could be surprised to learn the man had come from bandits, it explained everything. 

But it also meant something else to the ex-heiress, that these people must be related somehow to her blond teammate. Weiss began considering if she could use that as an angle as the bandit woman spoke up again.

“Don’t worry. We’ll contact your father and you’ll be safe in your pretty mansion once again. For a price.” A triumphant smirk crested Vernal’s face but Weiss merely scoffed at the idea.

“You think my father would pay for my safety? I’m no longer heiress and my father doesn’t negotiate with kidnappers, no matter what tribe they are from.”

“We’ll see about that, little miss.” 

“I came to Mistral to find my team and no one is going to stop me!” Weiss’ frustration peaked as she snarled at her captor who smirked and turned away without another word. Striding away with Myternaster on her shoulder.

Weiss made a show of sitting down, back facing the two goons, in a huff. She held her hands out in front of her, a small glyph whirring to life. As she focused, her summoned knight arose and she took comfort in it’s presence. 

The young huntress decided that should would watch and wait. Bide her time until an opportunity arose where she would make escape.

A Schnee was not helpless. She would not be stuck here, waiting to be rescued like some princess locked away in a castle, awaiting her plucky hero.

A Schnee made their own fortune.

* * *

When Yang woke up she decided she was in hell. 

Everything hurt, she felt dehydrated, and from her stomach came a dull throbbing that was most definitely not hunger. Though her stomach grumbled too when she thought of food. She pried her leaden eyes open and immediately closed them due to the bright light that was streaming in from outside. After blinking rapidly she managed to adjust her eyes to the light and looked around the room she found herself in.

It was a simple affair with wood paneled walls and sparse decoration. It didn’t seem to be a hospital room or something. A curious thought struck her and she thought back to what exactly she had been doing.

Kutsuri. Grimm. Purple eyes. 

A pang of fear and panic shot through her as she remembered her sister’s attacker and she looked frantically around the room, spying the sleeping form of her sister on the second bed in the room. Something held her right hand though and she turned to look at it. Attached to her hand was a blond boy who was dozing in a chair with his head down on her bedside, his hand in hers.

_ Jaune was at my bedside the whole time?  _

She found herself surprisingly touched by the thought of it. She could easily imagine both him and Ruby being far too worried to even leave the room before she recovered. 

Her attempting to move must have woken the boy up because one baleful, blue orb popped open and transfixed her with a studying gaze.

“You’re awake?” His voice sounded groggy, like he’d only just gotten into deep sleep.

“Kinda hard to sleep when I’ve got a boy vice-gripped to my hand.” She teased.

“Good. Was afraid you weren’t gonna get up.” A sleepy smile spread across his face and Yang’s heart skipped a beat.

She furiously squashed it down. It didn’t matter if he had meticulously taken care of her. She didn’t like him, she told herself. This just went to show how good of a taste in men Ruby had. That was all.

“YAAAAAAANG!” As if summoned by her thoughts, a squealing, red bullet struck her and clung to her chest, “I’m so glad you’re okay!” 

The noise caused the other blond in the room to sit up ramrod straight like he’d been hit with a bolt of lightning. There was a pounding outside the room and a bleary eyed Qrow stumbled in after bursting through the door. Shortly after came Nora dragging along a yawning Ren. 

“Shit, squirt. It’s too early in the morning to be yelling like that. Glad to see you up firecracker.” A grizzled man looked incredibly relieved. In fact so did everyone else. 

“You guys look like you thought I was gonna die.” Yang’’s laugh petered off as she saw the nervous looks between the others, “Holy shit. It was close wasn’t it.” A slight shake sounded in her voice.

“You _would_ have died if it wasn’t for Jaune.” She heard Ruby mumble in between crying into her shirt. She looked at the other blond, whose hand she still hadn’t let go off, and blinked. She threw a questioning look towards her uncle. 

He gingerly sat himself on the edge of the bed next to Ruby and wrapped an arm around her drawing her into a hug. He let go after a moment.

“It was touch and go for a bit but the kid here unlocked his semblance. And what a semblance it is. He healed you. Well not quite. He transferred his aura into you, boosting yours to full. If he hadn’t you’d be dead right now. When that Tryian guy stabbed you with his tail, he poisoned you with his semblance. It eats at the body and aura. Because Jaune gave you full aura…” He shrugged, letting the sentence fall off. 

It was enough, Yang could figure out the rest. Her aura fought back and repelled the harmful, poisoned aura. She finally freed her hand from Jaune and placed it atop Ruby’s head and embracing the sobbing girl who had gone slack in her grip. Jaune scratched the back of his head, only just now realizing how long he had been holding her hand. She made a mental note to never let him live it down. 

For now she settle for mouthing ‘thank you’ to him as she comforted her sister. She was here with her sister and that was all that mattered. He didn’t take her away. Tyrian had failed. Still something nagged at her as Qrow filled her in on what she had missed.

They were in Mistral apparently. Qrow had rented them an flat in the city while she recovered. Turns out she’d been unconscious for about two days. The bullheads had arrived soon after the Grimm had been defeated, they had been dispatched as soon as word had gotten to them about the attack. Amaranth had come with them, the little girl had put on a brave face during the attack apparently. The girl was staying at a nearby orphanage and had elicited a promise from Ruby to come see her once Yang was better. 

Eventually everyone filed out except for Ruby who clung to her like a koala the whole time. With a chuckle she finally managed to coax Ruby off her. And by coax she meant threat to reveal embarrassing secrets to Jaune. With a pout that had all the effect of a kitten Ruby sat on the nearby bed.

That small look from Ruby assured Yang that all was right with the world and it was a look she’d die to preserve. Eventually her younger sister looked away and grumbled.

“...sorry…”

“Huh?” Yang blinked in confusion.

“I’m sorry.” Ruby said more clearly, fixing her sister with a baleful stare, “It’s my fault this happened. That guy came after me.”

Yang laughed at that, “It’s not your fault Rubes. He was after you, yeah, but it was my own fault for getting careless.”

“No. Yang if I wasn’t so useless. If I was just better, faster, this wouldn’t have happened.”

It dawned on Yang as she saw her sister shuffle nervously, waiting for Yang to yell at her or blame her. Her heart broke at seeing her precious little sister like this, “I don’t blame you Ruby. None of us do. I’m your sister and I love you and never in a million, billion years would I let you be taken away. Next time, we’ll beat him together okay?”

“Mkay.” She got up and hugged Yang again, this one lasting for a while, “I love you Yang.”   
  


“I love you too Sis. Give Jaune a kiss for me. He deserves it.”

Ruby reeled back at the suggestion before turning to go out the door. She hesitated, halfway out the door, “Give your reward to him yourself.” 

Yang was glad that Ruby hadn’t turned back to look as heat suffused her cheeks, “Dammit Ruby” 


	15. A Much Needed Talk

_That’s it,_ Ruby decided, _there’s something wrong with my sister._ These were the general thoughts running through her head as she watched her sister stalk through the flat like a Beowolf was going to pop out and she had to suppress a giggle every time she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Jaune.

It wasn’t anything obvious to those who didn’t know Yang that well wouldn’t notice but to her trained, sisterly eye it was clearer than day. It was a rare day when the blond was on the receiving end. 

Ruby was basking in her embarrassment.

Maybe she was contributing, too. This was prime time to get revenge for all of the teasing she had lofted onto her over the years. She watched with guilty pleasure as she did an about turn when she saw Jaune was in the next room talking to Ren and Nora. Ruby wasn’t the only one who noticed. Qrow had been all but insufferable these last few days since her sister had recovered. She almost felt bad for Yang, who was walking on eggshells. Almost.

But it also was something she’d never seen in Yang before. Oh there had been boys before but the girl had been more in control then. Those had always seemed like flings, as much as their father hated it, and never lasted long. The blond had always felt she had a duty to her sister and everyone else came second to Ruby. Those boys had wanted her attention and when she wouldn’t put them first they left or they got booted out. 

It was an oddly warm feeling that suffused her. It made her a little sad as she realized that. The thought of those two together didn’t bother her, and it should have, she thought. 

She grew still, _Does that mean I don’t like him? Or am I just not jealous._ The thought worried her so much she didn’t notice who had sat next to her until they poked her in the side of the head. She jumped sideways and scooted as far across from Jaune on the couch as she could be. 

“Remnant to Ruby. You there?”

“Ehehehehe. I’m here, where else would I be?” Ruby really hoped he hadn’t noticed her nervous titter.

“Yeah…. So anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to do some sparring.”

“Shouldn’t you ask Yang?”

Jaune’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Why would I ask Yang? She’d destroy me.”

Ruby paused as what she’d said caught up to her and she shook her head back and forth to clear her thoughts before throwing a pout his way, “Are you saying Yang’s better than me?”

“Uh, no?” The blond looked like he’d been handed a live bomb and Ruby couldn’t help but laugh at him before standing up.

“Sparring sounds like fun.”

As they stood on the terrace facing one another Jaune had the nostalgic nervousness of once again facing off against Cresent Rose. Almost lazily, Ruby spun her beloved scythe around with a small smile on her face. The giant blade went behind her back and she took her ready stance, knees bent and body coiled. 

Jaune settled into his own ready stance, shield raised in front and the blade of Crocea Mors held up perpendicular to his shield, tip pointed towards his opponent. They stood still for a moment. Neither moving and yet waiting for the other. They had entered a state where the slightest movement could kick off battle.

Jaune’s left foot twitched and everything started in a flash. In a gust of petals Ruby closed the distance in a second. Her blade came in vertically towards his face and he sidestepped the obvious opening move. She was fast, far faster than him, but the wide sweeping of her weapon was predictable. The large weapon could only be swung so many different ways and the lead in to each strike was telegraphed.

At this point any experienced fighter, or someone who had fought her a lot, could tell what she was going to do before she started the move. Even with all of her speed it only ended up evening out the fight instead of giving her an advantage. Jaune drove his shield into her guard and stabbed out with his blade. 

With the tip of Crescent Rose buried in the ground, Ruby mounted her weapon in a display of gymnastics and deftly avoided Jaune’s strike. She landed with her weapon between her and her opponent. Withdrawing the weapon from the ground the young girl made a series of sweeping lateral strikes. Each one was blocked by a shield as the blonde pushed into her reach.

Every time he blocked he would strike out with his blade causing Ruby to abandon any follow up. Both scored glancing blows on the other but nothing significant. 

The reaper bounced backwards before a particularly devastating strike from Jaune. Using the recoil from her weapon she launched into the air and descended upon him like a sawblade, spinning down. The blond deflected the strike into the ground with his shield and had to move his head to the side as something streaked towards his face. It skirted across his cheek, aura pushing it back and preventing damage. 

His eyes focused on the thin blade next to his head and trailed up to the girl holding the katana.

Ruby stood balanced on the haft of Crescent Rose with Rose Thorn in hand and a triumphant smirk on her face. Before he could make a move against her a slow clapping could be heard from the sidelines.

“Not bad. For a kid.” Qrow pushed off the wall he’d been leaning on as the two who had been sparring turned their attention to him, Ruby jumping off of Cresent Rose. 

The huntsman took a swig from his flask, “Looks like you’re startin’ ta see the limitations of scythes. They’re real great against large monsters but against a human opponent? Not so much.” 

The older man held out his hand and Ruby deposited her sword into it. He looked along the blade with a critical eye, folding and unfolding it before giving it back to her, “Heh. Not to shabby a blade. Definitely good for a surprise. My advice? Work on your sword forms. You’re handy with your scythe but fightin’ a person is gonna be easier with the sword. And for the love of Remnant work on your hand to hand.” 

At the last Ruby looked away sheepishly. She knew she was useless without her baby but couldn’t bring herself to practice. 

“And you, kid.” Qrow turned to Jaune, “You got good form. The basics are down. Experience will come. Fight as many different opponents as you can and keep to whatever your regimen is.”

“Yeah. Thanks, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir. Makes me feel old. Call me Qrow. Sides we might be pretty close one day.” With that he shared a wink with Ruby who started to giggle, “Anyways I came t’ get you guys. With Yang up an about now it’s time we had a much needed talk.”

  
  


* * *

Yang felt her body stiffen up when Jaune and her sister entered the living room. Ruby plopped down next to her on the couch while Jaune made to sit next to Nora and Ren. Yang almost let out a sigh of relief when he did before she caught herself. She hated being so conscious of a bot but she couldn’t help it. Every time she saw him, Ruby’s words came back to the forefront of her mind and so did the images. 

Anyone would feel awkward thinking that was about their sister’s crush, right?

She glowered at her sibling from the corner of her eyes, the young girl had been teasing her over the last few days about it. Bringing up Jaune’s “reward” at every moment. She made a note to remind Ruby of who was the older sister in a very humiliating way. 

Qrow settled down in the single seat with a grumble before looking at each of the young hunters one at a time. All thoughts of filial revenge faded once the older man launched into his stories. 

And stories they were. Yang wasn’t sure if she really believed him or not. This talk of maidens, magic, the Grimm having a queen, and the tale of relics was just too much. Even Neo in the corner looked like she didn’t believe him. After taking stock of the room Qrow just laughed.

“Yup. That’s what I thought. Hard to believe the first time right? These are the kinds of secrets people get killed over though.”

So… this power is what Cinder wanted? That’s the reason Beacon was attacked?” Jaune was the first to find his voice, “That’s the reason why you had to drag Pyyrha into this and get her killed?!” His voice cracked, his blue eyes wide in fury. 

Qrow looked steadily at the young man, “It wasn’t something we could really have a choice in. The previous maiden was dying. Slowly but sure. Once she croaked Oz had no idea what would happen but we couldn’t take the risk that her last thoughts were of her attacker, Cinder, or that the power would seek her out anyways. Better to give it to someone strong, someone who could safeguard it and who we could keep safe ourselves. Besides. The maiden wasn’t the only target.

“Each of the four relics are hidden at each school across Remnant. Beacon would have been attacked anyways. We gave the choice to Pyyrha, we wouldn’t force her into this.”

“Bullshit!” Jaune stood as he hissed, “You know how Pyyrha was. There was no choice once you told her the stakes.” The blonde stalked out the room to the terrace. Yang winced as the door slammed shut. 

“So what now?” Nora broke the silence, “Knowing this is good, I guess, but it doesn’t really change what we’re here to do right?”

“Well yes and no.” Qrow ran a hand down his face, “You guy’s were originally going to track down Cinder.” There wasn’t a question in his voice and it had them squirming in their seats, “Well we know what her objective is. The spring maiden. And I know where she is. If we can find the Spring Maiden we can safeguard her and hopefully bring Cinder in. Or kill her.”

Everyone looked at each other in nervousness but Yang noticed that didn’t show any reaction at all. Her eyes narrowed but she decided to deal with it later.

“Okay so it’s simple then. Get to this Maiden, protect her, mess up Cinder when she comes.” Yang slammed one hand into the other.

“Not so fast Firecracker.” For once Qrow looked nervous himself, “Y’see the problem is in where she is.”

“Quit beating around the bush Uncle Qrow. Where?”

“She’s with the Branwen Tribe.”

Silence.

It was a curious silence. The only ones who knew of the importance of those words was her sister but the other could sense something from Yang. Now it explained why Qrow had tried to dance around the subject. He knew about her issues with her mother, he had even told her where she was. 

It made a certain amount of sense. The only other place than Haven that could keep you safe would be a place like that. Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Is she being held prisoner?”

“Probably not.”

“Will she come willingly?”

“Not likely.”

“I see.”

Yang turned and walked out the same direction Jaune had gone earlier. Ruby whined down in her throat looking from her uncle to her sister until the latter was out of sight. Qrow stood up too, the look on his face not relishing what he was about to go do.

“All right kids. You probably need time to process this, I’m gonna go meet with Headmaster Lionheart. I need to secure some help if we’re gonna go raid the bandit tribe.”

With that he left the four of them alone. Neo was stone faced in the corner and Ren was the first to place a question as the silence stretched into minutes, “Ruby. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Qrow’s name and the bandit tribe.”

The young man let the question hang in the air as Ruby agonized over Yang’s personal business. Eventually she relented realizing that they would find out eventually anyways.

“Uncle Qrow and his sister, Yang’s mom, were born of the tribe. Aunt Raven abandoned Yang when she was born. For a long time Sis was obsessed with finding her. So this is kind of a big deal for her. I’m pretty sure Aunt Raven is there.”

“Ren…” Nora looked pleadingly at Ren.

“I know Nora. We will of course support Yang no matter what.”

Ruby felt her eyes water a little as she looked at her friends. She was once again thankful for her time at Beacon, giving her so many invaluable friends. 

  
  


* * *

Jaune felt someone settle in next to him as he rested his elbows on the balcony overlooking Mistral. The city was definitely more beautiful than Vale was, built into a large valley surrounded by mountains. The cool crisp evening air bit at his skin but he paid it no attention even as the cold faded away in the face of the heat generated by the person next to him. 

Looking over he saw the other blond in the group with her chin in her hands and elbows on the balustrade. She had a troubled expression on her face even as she huffed loudly. 

“Hey.” He said simply, wishing he had something to say that didn’t sound quite so dumb.

“Hey” She returned, short and clipped.

“So, uh, what’s wrong?” 

She spared him a look out of the corner of her eye before looking back out over the city. After a minute she turned to him, leaning on the balcony still, with a sigh.

“You know Ruby and I are half-sisters, right?” She continued when he nodded, “Well my biological mother, Raven, is the leader of the Branwen Tribe. Uncle Qrow just told us that she has the Spring Maiden and is most likely Cinder’s next target.”

Jaune could guess from Yang’s current mood that there were issues there and wasn’t sure how to go about talking to the girl. Turns out he didn’t need to as she continued with her story.

“Thing is, though, I used to be obsessed with finding her. So obsessed that I nearly got myself and Ruby killed by dragging her along on a quest to go find her. Ever since I swore that I wouldn’t let my search for her get in the way of family. And now… and now she just shows up in my path. The woman who abandoned me at birth. Not only that. But on the train, when I fought Neo, she showed up. Without a word or anything, she showed up and saved my life.” 

She was on a roll now. Words gushing forth as she unloaded all of the frustrations she’d been hiding for so long. 

“I don’t even know why, either. I get a message from Qrow later that she saved me once but not to expect it again. Does she care? Does she not? I can’t figure it out and it makes me angry. But more than that I’m scared. Scared of what she would say when I do see her.”

Her golden mane shook as she shivered and Jaune put an arm over her shoulders and slowly, after several deep breaths she got it under control. He felt her step into him though it looked like she was unaware of it herself. For several minutes they stood like that until Jaune could get his words in order. 

“I don’t think you should care.” She tilted her head up to look at him, “I mean she gave you up right? Which means she doesn’t get to say anything about you now. You’re amazing as you are now Yang. You are strong and kind. You put your family first, unlike her. She doesn’t get to come in now and judge you, Yang. If she tries, I won’t let her. We won’t.” He added that last part after a cough. 

Looking down at her he could see her smirking at him now. She moved away from him and poked him in the chest with a finger, “Well damn loverboy. Keep up words like that and I might just fall for you.”

She stepped through his stammering to give him a quick hug, “Thanks Jaune.”

The blond woman turned to leave and stopped at the door. Looking back she flashed him a radiant smile that had his pulse quicken before she was through the door, leaving him in the cool evening air and a disappointingly empty feeling of warmth that was no longer there.


	16. Requiem

“Follow these steps. Dominant foot forward, sword in position, like we talked about, and shield up. Now swing.”

_ Swing. _

“Again.”

_ Swing.  _

“Repeat until you can barely lift your arms.”

Jaune swung again and paused before swinging once more, working through the various stances he had been taught from what seemed like ages ago. He had been at this for hours already, the video on repeat as he worked himself slowly in the night. Pyyrha’s voice rang out in the silent night from his scroll. It was a constant reminder of his loss as he tried to tell himself that she was still there for him. 

“Assuming you haven’t been cheating. You can take a break.” 

Jaune paused, sword arm extended straight out and he could feel his muscles burning and shaking. This training was something he had been doing several times a week for months. With aura if he pushed his body to the limit it would heal by the next day and he could push even farther. He grit his teeth as he lowered his sword and focused on his breathing. He needed to be better, work harder, than everyone else. Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Ren all had many more years on him in regards to experience and training.

That meant Jaune needed to push himself to his limits in order to not drag them down, to even stand on equal footing. He listened to her voice, saying the same words they always did.

“I know this can be frustrating, and it can like so much effort to progress just a small amount.”

His eyes burned and his chest tightened, he knew what was coming.

“But I want you to know that I’m proud of you. I’ve never met someone so determined to better themselves. You’ve grown so much since we started training and I know this is just the beginning.”

Quickly he walked up and closed the video. He didn’t want to hear the rest of it. Couldn’t. Every day he missed his partner and it felt like he was beating his head against a wall, the wall of talent. Those who were ready for this and every time he saw the difference between him and his friends a small voice in the back of his mind wondered if it was his fault Pyyrha had died alone atop that tower. If he had been stronger or if it had been someone else then maybe she wouldn’t have had to die. 

“Jaune?” A voice called out from behind him and he looked up quickly to see that small, unsure form of Ruby Rose. A look of concern was on her face and she looked like she didn’t know what to do with her hands. The blond quickly rubbed his eyes and gave her a smile he was sure she saw through.

“Hey Ruby, what are you still doing up?”

“Well, I had something of a nightmare. I decided to walk around a bit. I couldn’t help but see that video…” Her voice trailed off, unsure if she was prying or not. It brought a more genuine smile to his face.

“Pyyrha recorded it. Around the time the Vytal festival was beginning. She said she might not have time to train me personally anymore so she made a video I could follow when she wasn’t around. Heh, who knew it would come so much in hand.”

“In my nightmare, I heard her voice. Pyyrha’s.”

Jaune stared at the young woman as she approached, his breath crystallizing in the cool night air.

“You miss her?”

“Of course I do, Ruby. She was my partner.” He pushed down the annoyance at the insinuation that he shouldn’t miss her, knowing it’s not what Ruby meant.

“Was she more than that?” 

The question caught him off guard and he looked down into her silver eyes as she stared up at him. They held no judgement, only pure concern.

“I….I just…” Jaune sighed and closed his eyes before fully sheathing Crocea Mors and returning it to his hip. He couldn't look into those silver eyes and instead looked out over Mistral, “I knew, you know. How she felt. I’m not stupid.”

“You knew Pyyrha was in love with you?”

“Yeah. It took me a while, until after the dance, but I figured it out.”

“Why pretend to not see it then?”

“Because.” He reached his arms out, hands gripping the balcony tight, “She’s Pyyrha Nikos and I’m just some guy who snuck his way into Beacon.” His voice was barely above a whisper, “I wouldn’t be able to give her what she needed. I decided to get stronger. Once I was stronger, and could stand shoulder to shoulder with her, then I could think about something like romance. I was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid!” He looked over to find her indignant glare. “Sure it may have been a mistake but it wasn’t stupid. At least I don’t think so. You were doing things for her, she would have been so happy to know that.”

“Maybe. Or maybe she’s angry at me in the afterlife. Cursing that if only we had talked it out something could have been managed. I don’t know. That’s why after she died I made a promise that I wouldn’t hesitate anymore, like I did with her.”

They fell into silence. Ruby not knowing exactly what to say so she decided to just hug him instead. He was surprised at first, finding the small huntress suddenly attached to him, but he settled his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back, thankful for it. After a minute she backed up, he cheeks slightly pink, as if she was embarrassed at it. 

“Hey Jaune. Can I ask a question?” Her foot kicked at the ground as she looked at him with a little bit of nervousness. She continued after he nodded, “What do you think of Yang?”

The question surprised him. An image of the blond floated to the forefront of his mind and brought with it his conversation with the woman before, and how close they had been standing. And from even before that the words from Scarlett jumped up,  _ I saw a girl staking her territory.  _ Unbidden, heat began to blossom over his face as that brought to mind all of the teasing she put him through.

“Yang is…. Alright.” 

Ruby studied his face for a moment before being apparently satisfied and grinning slightly, “Yup. Night Jaune. You should get some sleep too.”

“What do you mean ‘Yup’?” When it became clear she wouldn’t answer as she walked away. He grumbled as he made his way to the shower. 

  
  
  


* * *

“Yang! Yaaaaang!” The girl in question promptly used a pillow to silence the offending party before glaring at the young girl who, while she was her sister, was about to learn once more why it was unwise to interrupt her sleep.

“Ruby I swear someone had better be dead or dying!” 

Even a pillow was unable to stop the young girl’s enthusiasm as she hovered by the blond huntress’ bed. 

“Guess what!” She continued when she only got a glare instead, “I’m pretty sure Jaune likes you!”

That brought everything to a grinding halt, including her own thought processes so she could only give an eloquent, “What?”

“I asked what Jaune thought about you!”

Yang’s heart dropped into her stomach.

“He said you were alright and he blushed. BLUSHED!”

And then her heart came back with a massive wave of relief.

“Ruby. Blushing doesn’t mean someone likes the other. It just means you’re embarrassed. You’re reading WAY too into this.”

“But but but-”

“But nothing Rubes. Blushing doesn’t mean much and even if it did what makes you think that I’m interested.”

This earned an unimpressed look from Ruby, “You are my sister Yang and even you haven’t been this awkward around a boy. Ever.”

“Okay I might be a little.” She hedged and her little sister squealed, “But what about you? Aren’t you interested in him?”

“I like him. He’s so friendly and kind and he works really hard and he cares about his family. That’s why it would be so great if you two liked each other! If you got together he’d be my brother too and I’d have a bunch more sisters too!”

Yang sighed at this, of course her sister would feel that way. She was pretty sure Ruby didn’t know what she was feeling though she couldn’t blame the girl having never felt any way about guys.

“Ruby. If I kissed Jaune how would you feel. Picture it.”

Ruby cocked her head and her cheeks darkened, “I’d be kinda happy.”

Yang’s palm met her face, “That all?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing Ruby. When you find a guy you like romantically you’ll understand.” She placed her hand on top of Ruby’s head, rubbing it even as the girl squirmed free. A small cute pout crossed her face.

“I’m fifteen not five, Yang. I know I don’t like Jaune like that. I thought I did.” She added when Yang opened her mouth, “But with you acting the way you have been I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Jaune’s a great guy. I want him to be a part of my life forever but I just don’t feel that way about him. It’s hard to explain. Every time I think about the things you’d want from a relationship, Jaune just doesn’t fit. Y’know?”

“Yeah Ruby, I know. Now go to bed. I have no idea why we are having this conversation at one in the morning but don’t you dare wake me up like this again.”

Ruby had the self-awareness to look sheepish as she got back into bed, taking her prosthetic off and placing it on the nearby nightstand. The light turned off as the young reaper pulled the covers up leaving Yang alone with her thoughts as she stared up at the ceiling in the dark room. A small smile spread against her will as she thought about what Ruby had said. Jaune might just be interested in her and it turns out it was just a small school crush by Ruby on her first male friend. Normal and lucky for her that her sister had realized it. 

She drifted off to sleep thinking of someone tall and very comfortable.

  
  


* * *

Ruby couldn’t quite get to sleep very easily, her thoughts drifting to the lie she had told her sister. 

It was fine, she told herself, she knew Yang would give up her own happiness to not get in the way of Ruby’s but the young reaper had seen the way Jaune looked at her sister when no one thought he was looking. She thought even he didn’t notice himself, judging from their earlier conversation. That didn’t matter, what mattered was that she locked her own feelings deep down. For her sister. 

* * *

  
  


“Humans didn’t do this!” Blake pointed back to the smoldering remnants of her home, sections of it still on fire, “We did this. To ourselves!”

The crowd stood stock still, several of the faces in the front looked sympathetic to her. Others looked shocked.

“We are just as capable as them for these acts of hatred and violence but I don’t think anyone would jump at the chance to point it out.” Her ears flattened as she remembered herself being that way, before Beacon. Before her team. His face appeared in her mind. One she had previously associated with purpose but was an existence that was only spite now.

“Why are we letting Adam do it for us! By doing nothing we are letting others act and speak on our behalf. If we don’t like what they are doing then we have no one but ourselves to blame.”

Many of the faces of the crowd looked guilty, a handful remained indignant. Hatred towards humans was deep seated and would be hard to turn over.

“Adam will spread his message of hatred and violence for us to the world unless we stop him. And we can stop him! I understand all of you want a simple answer to this problem but there  _ is  _ no simple answer.” 

A few voices muttered in agreement, the crowd looked at her in sympathy. She had been a member of the White Fang, had followed Adam. More importantly she had lived among humans as well. She had seen more of the world than many of the Faunus in Menagerie.

“This is a very complex problem and there is no simple answer. I don’t  _ know  _ the answer. But I know what it’s not. It’s not Violence, and it’s not hatred. This isn’t something we can make go away with force. I learned that the hard way.”

At this she turned back and looked at Ilia. Her former comrade had a sorrowful expression on her face, one that tugged at Blake’s heart. No matter what, they had been friends. She had only learned this lesson after leaving the White Fang and more importantly after being forgiven. She had run away from her friends, thinking they would blame and ostracize her for her past. Instead she found forgiveness from the most unlikely place, Weiss Schnee. If a Schnee was capable of that then surely they all were.

Now this was her chance to spread this lesson, to make sure that Faunus could truly take a step forward.

“I understand that asking you to leave your homes and defend Haven academy is asking for you to put your lives at risk.” Blake scanned the crowd, meeting many of their gazes as best she could before continuing, “But that is what is at stake! So I’m going. And I’ll stand by myself if I have to.” 

She ended her speech with a challenging look out into the crowds but the night was silent save for the crackling of her burning home. There she stood on the stairs, her home burning behind her but hopefully lighting a fire in the souls of the residents of Menagerie. A wake up call to the complacent.

“I’ll stand with you. If you’ll have me.” The voice was unexpected and Blake turned to look at her old friend. There Ilia stood, hopeful and fearful. Awaiting the judgement and damnation she was so sure she was to receive. A feeling that Blake could relate to when her friends had found out about her past. She found no words of condemnation. Ilia had made her choice earlier, that much was clear. Murmurs rippled throughout the crowd of faunus. 

Ilia made to step down towards her but was stopped by the Guard Captain of Menagerie.

“You’re just going to forgive her?! Just like that?”

“Yeah. I am.” She levelled her gaze at the man and he looked to her father.

Ghira nodded that it was okay and the young faunus stepped down until she was next to Blake. The black haired girl gave her a small smile and nod. The weight seemed to visibly lift off of the other girl as another vice spoke up from the crowd, a young ram horned man stepped forward. Soon others joined in, the crowd becoming louder and louder as voices of support resounded. 

_ This is it.  _ Blake thought to herself,  _ This is the beginning of the change I wanted. _ A hand came down on her shoulder and she looked at Sun, and then Ilia who stood on her other side. 

It was time to take a step in the right direction.

  
  


* * *

Weiss looked up nervously at the sky, not for the first time wishing she had a coat or some sort of blanket. The weather had taken a turn for the wrose in a matter of seconds, something she had never seen before. The wind picked up and started blowing a distant rumble could be heard as thunder clapped. In the distance, blue sky could be seen with the storm being centered directly over the bandit camp.

Things had been unusual today to begin with. Mainly that the normally raucous occupants themselves became very silent minutes before the storm had formed. She had strained to hear anything and could only make out the murmur of voices speaking in the distance. The storm disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Slowly sound began to come back to the camp but a tense atmosphere remained. The cheer was no longer there in the air. 

Eventually Vernal, a face she had unfortunately become accustomed to in the weeks since her captivity, wandered in with another figure in tow. It was the same black and red garbed woman from when she was captured and the way everyone treated her with reverence Weiss could only assume this was the leader. 

The woman reached up and unclasped the white and red mask she wore, revealing a face that made Weiss draw in a surprised breath. There, staring down at her with cold indifference, was an older Yang. Of course weiss was no idiot and in a few seconds put all the information she had into a tentative theory. Given the woman’s astounding similarity to her teammate and the fact that the name Branwen was attached to the bandit tribe she could only draw one conclusion. This was Yang’s real mother. 

“Hello there Miss Schnee.”

“To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?” Weiss asked, deciding that antagonizing the woman was probably a bad idea if her temperament was anything like her daughter’s. 

“My name is Raven Branwen, and though you may have already guessed as much, I am Yang’s mother.”

Weiss’ eyes narrowed at having her thought process guessed so easily. This woman was cunning, and dangerous. It was a fierce intellect that reminded her of her father while also carrying herself with the confidence of an accomplished huntress. 

“The similarity was a dead giveaway.” This earned her a small smirk from the older woman, “Now if I may, I  _ am  _ at your mercy. I can assume you are seeing me for some purpose?”

“You would assume correctly. Tell me something. How much do you know of Ozpin?”

An odd question, “He was the youngest huntsman to ascend to the position of Headmaster of Beacon Academy, he died in defense of the Academy during the event dubbed the Fall of Beacon.” There, a textbook answer.

“And if I told you he wasn’t dead, or rather his soul wasn’t?”

“I’d say that it was impossible.”

A smile that sent shivers down her spine crept across the face of the other woman, “I think we should have a conversation Miss Schnee.”

“And why, Miss Branwen, would I want to agree to that?” The ex-heiress stood to level her gaze with the woman, it wouldn’t do to appear weak in a negotiation.

“Because, Miss Schnee,” Raven’s smile widened none too kindly, “I have a proposition for you.”


	17. Neither Early Nor Late

Ruby Rose felt like she could be forgiven for feeling awkward in a situation such as this. One one hand there was her sister, Yang, who she had lied to and was still feeling incredibly guilty. The young reaper trailed behind as they walked the streets of Mistral towards the orphanage where Amaranth was staying now. Her sister could be so stubborn at times, bulldozing through all of her excuses  _ not  _ to come with them.

Of course the other problem was walking with them. Jaune Arc, the last person she wanted to be around at that moment. That wasn’t to say she was mad at him, no. She was actually just extremely aware of him, and of what she had to do. She couldn’t be a bad sister and get in the way of Yang’s happiness, therefore the only choice was to give up. That was why it was so hard to be around the man. How can she be expected to give up on him when they were spending time together?

It was while lamenting this fact that the trio came up to the orphanage. It was a modest building with three stories and large, double doors. The walls were a drab green with peeling paint in some sections. Without hesitation, Yang stepped up and pressed the buzzer next to the door. A loud ringing sound could be heard throughout. Moments later they noticed heavy footfalls as a middle-aged woman opened the door.

“Yes? Welcome to the Two Brother’s Orphanage Center. I’m the headmistress, Camilla Sandshorn. What can I help you with today?” If she was taken aback by finding three teenagers on her doorstep, the headmistress played it off well.

“Hi, I’m Yang. This is my sister Ruby and teammate, Jaune.” The two beside her waved at their introductions, “We were hoping to visit a new child you received, Amaranth?”

The lady’s face broke into a radiant smile, “Oh little Mara’s friends. You are the ones who rescued her, yes?” They nodded, “Excellent, excellent. She will be delighted to see you. You young’uns are all she can talk about. Keeps saying she’ll be a strong huntress like you someday.”

Headmistress Sandshorn led them through the foyer and up a nearby flight of stairs. Eventually they entered a room with comfortable looking chairs and a sofa accompanied by a squat table that had a tea set on it. Miss Sandshorn quickly made herself busy, taking the set and promising them refreshments and that Mara would be around soon. Ruby took up one of the large seats and sighed in bliss as she sank into it. Jaune and Yang sat on opposite ends of the couch, leaving room for a whole person between them. Ruby had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the two of them.

A sudden sound from nearby had everyone’s head snap up. It wasn’t Camilla returning nor was it Amaranth. It was something else. A whooshing sound could be heard and there was a pinprick of red light that rapidly expanded into a swirling vortex in mid air. The inside was dark and murky, a red mist-like obscuration covered the event horizon. A lone figure popped out of the swirling vortex and a moment later it vanished leaving the person alone in the room with the three hunters in training. 

Without even noticing they had stood, Jaune had his hand on the pommel of Crocea Mors already. Things got even more confusing as they realized it was a familiar white haired girl standing there, having appeared from nowhere.

“Weiss?!” The three shouted at the same time.

“Uh… It’s been a while?” The heiress tried, a small wave as she awkwardly smiled. 

  
  


* * *

Weiss couldn’t believe how relieved she felt at the sight of her teammates. Even the blond, lovesick idiot was a welcome sight to her as her team leader refused to let go of her, not that she wanted the girl to. Tenderly she wrapped her arms around Ruby.

“I’m so glad to see you.” Weiss whispered to Ruby, drinking in the comforting presence of the girl she considered as much a family to her as her sister. Looking over she nodded at Jaune, “You seem well Arc.”

“Hey Weiss, glad you’re...okay?”

She finally turned to the last person in the room, hoping to see the classing Yang smile.

She did not. Yang stood there with a neutral expression and her arms crossed. 

“Wess, the hell is going on? How did you step out of thin air? Last I knew your glyphs couldn’t do  _ that. _ ” 

Ruby’s head swiveled to look at her sister, a flash of worry in her eyes. Weiss took a deep, composing breath and let it out slowly.

“I met your mother.” She looked Yang in the eyes, “I was on my way into Mistral when the ship I was in was attacked by Grimm. We managed to fight them off but not before the airship was irreparably damaged and we crashed. There I was found by the Branwen Tribe.”

“So she just decided to rescue you out of the goodness of her heart?” Yang’s eyes were hard, her frown deepset. Weiss felt a stab of irritation at the suspicion. It shouldn’t matter what happened between mother and daughter, the heiress had done all she could to return to her team. Surely Yang could be happy about that.

“No. Originally I was going to be ransomed back to my father.” Weiss almost delighted in the widening in her eyes, “Instead we came to something of an understanding. I had something she wanted and I wanted to get to my team.”

The blond took interest in this, stepping forward, “What was it? What did you give her?”

“Just some information.” Weiss lied, standing a little taller as Yang stalked towards her. The other woman may have been taller but the heiress would not be cowed. 

“What. Information.” 

“I can’t tell you.”

Yang exploded, her lilac eyes turning crimson, “You can’t tell me?! Your teammate?! And yet you could tell  _ her _ ?”

“Look, Yang, it’s complicated. But part of the deal was for me to keep quiet about what I told her. From  _ anyone. _ ” Weisses voice took on a pleading edge, “Trust me, Yang. Please. I wanted so badly to come back to you all.”

Yang seemed to deflate at the look on Weiss’ face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it a moment late. When she looked back at the heiress her eyes were back to their normal lilac.

“I guess… all that matters is that you’re here.” 

Ruby shot a small smile at Weiss and held her arm out, the heiress doing the same. Yang slipped into the embrace and the red hooded girl let out a contented sigh. Weiss could smell the familiar scent of lavender coming from the blond and some flowery scent from the brunette. Even as she treasured the two sisters, she still felt something missing. Judging from the brief look on Ruby’s face, she felt it too. 

But they were more whole than they had been earlier and that was important in and of itself. They still had plenty of time to get Blake back, wherever she was. A small sigh escaped her as she remembered the moment Blake had fled. She had stayed to make sure Yang would be okay but as soon as she had that confirmation, she left. 

_ “I can’t let something like this happen again.” Blake said, tears streaming down her face as she looked up from Yang’s unconscious form, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Weiss looked at Sun but that was a mistake as the raven haired girl fled into the darkness. The monkey faunus and heiress looked at each other for a moment. _

_ “I’ll look after her. Don’t worry. And I’ll make sure to bring her back too.” With that, Sun trotted off after her, his scroll coming up to his ear as he dialled his teammates. _

Weiss shook her head. They could worry about their last member later. 

The door clicked and opened as a middle aged woman entered, accompanied by a young child.

“Oh my! When did another guest arrive?”

* * *

  
  


Jaune couldn’t stop smiling. 

Weiss was back and Mara had been so excited to see them that she had jumped at him and Yang, hugging them both. He felt like he had gained another little sister. His spirits almost took a dive when he remembered that they probably wouldn’t see eachother again. The girl with pink hair squirmed in his lap as he stopped playing with her hair. With a laugh he began running his fingers through it again. 

This was, after all, all about her. Yet the girl’s eyes when she realized they were friends with  _ the  _ Weiss Schnee? Her eyes had been as wide as dinner plates. With an indulgent smile the heiress had acquiesced to the girl’s request and sang a small, quiet song for her. Jaune was impressed. He’d heard she was a famous singer but her voice sounded so clear and lovely, like a bell.

Sapphire met lilac and a wide smile bloomed across Yang’s face. He returned it. To him this was honestly rather amazing he couldn’t get over the fact he was here with his friends. Jaune’s eyes traveled over to the heiress and he noted a few things. Her dress was charred and torn in places, testament to the crash and her subsequent capture. Her eyes sparkled, however, and he could tell how much she loved her team. 

It was a nagging thought about a realization, however, as he suddenly found his heart wasn’t skipping beats nor was it racing. Instead he felt foolish as he thought back on how he had felt about her. It seemed so shallow now, just a schoolboy crush, and he felt more the fool for it. He hoped nobody noticed his embarrassment as they continued to listen to her sing. 

When she finally finished she was rewarded by the excited clapping of a young girl and whistling from her blonde teammate. They spent the next hour or so chatting amongst themselves. Amaranth asked all kinds of questions about what it was like being a huntress (Jaune felt left out) and how they made their weapons. That had launched Ruby into a tirade about weapons and had even Yang looking nervous. 

All in all it was hard to leave and Jaune ended up giving the girl his scroll info so that she could contact him from a terminal if she wanted too. His heart almost broke seeing her eyes, pleading him to stay. Yang looked like she was about to break down and they only escaped after promising to stay in touch. 

Weiss promptly claimed the first shower upon their return, with a much confused Ren standing there and Nora shouting something about a witch. Jaune had to stop the redhead from tackling the heiress who was continuing on about not letting the girl melt in the shower.

It was chaos, and it was glorious. 

That was, until, a knock came from the door. Weiss was in the living room meticulously towel drying her hair when it came. Dressed in a spare set of Ruby’s pajamas the heiress glared at Jaune every time he so much as glanced in her direction. Yang was lounging and waved that she wasn’t about to get it. Ruby had her headphones on and was reading X-Ray and Vav, a new issue she had purchased on the way back. 

That left the grumbling blond man to get up and answer the door. Still wary of strangers who shouldn’t know they were there, Jaune grabbed Crocea Mors from where it was leaning. 

Opening the door the blond was faced with a young kid, no older than Ruby herself, standing there nervously. His hazel eyes looked up at the knight and then down to the hand he had on his weapon, stepping a half step back. 

“Um… Is there a…. Ruby Rose here?”

That got a reaction from everyone. Yang was at the door in a flash, eyes narrowed.

“Who’s asking?”

Though the boy opened his mouth to reply, he never got the chance to as Qrow stumbled into the doorway and slumped into his niece. 

“Hehehe, I found ‘im!” He slurred as he slouched onto the vacant couch that Yang led him to, laying down with a great sigh of relief. 

“Dammit Drunkle Qrow.” Yang’s fingers massaged. Ruby took off her headphones and sighed the same defeated sigh as her sister.

“Uncle Qrow, did you get drunk again?” The look on her face suggested this was quite the old conversation.

“Eeeeeeeeh. Maybe?” Ruby’s palm met her forehead before she looked up at the young man who had brought her uncle home. 

“Sorry if he gave you trouble, kid. He didn’t… do anything did he?” Yang asked the brown haired boy.

He started at being addressed, tearing his eyes away from the girl in red, “What? No, I-”

“Thank the gods nothing happened. I was worried it would be like that one time in patch.” Both Yang and Ruby shivered.

“All those cats….” Ruby said, lost in memory.

“You have silver eyes.” The statement was quiet and almost missed. But in a split second everyone's eyes were drawn to the stranger among them. It was Ruby who first spoke.

“Who… are you?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Um. My name is Oscar Pine.”

“Wait for it…” Qrow trailed off drunkenly from the couch.

“You may know me better as Professor Ozpin.” The boy almost flinched as he said it.

The silence as everyone struggled to wrap their minds around the words was interrupted by the crazed cackling of Qrow as he slid to the floor where he lay face down and continued to laugh. Weiss kept toweling her hair off, seemingly the least disturbed by the events. Well, besides Qrow. Neo walked up and stood inches in front of him. She brought one hand level with the top of her head and stretched it straight across over his head, comparing their heights. Seemingly satisfied she sat down with the heiress and crossed her legs.

Weiss froze as the criminal sat next to her, no doubt wondering why the psychopath was there and why no one cared. 

“Can we also talk about the mute lunatic in our presence? Last I was aware she was trying to kill us.”

“She isn’t anymore. Not like she helps much either.” Yang casted an accusatory glare at the short woman who simply smiled and waved back.

“Right. I’m getting to that.” The kid said to no one in particular, raising eyebrows across the room, “Um, so the quick version is that yes Ozpin is dead. However his soul is now attached to my body.”

Yang sighed, “Look I’m sorry that Qrow put you up to this. You should go home kid.”

“He’s not lying.” It was Weiss who came to Oscar’s rescue. 

“Is that one of your witch powers?!” Nora squealed.

“What? No. I’m not a witch Nora! It’s something I learned from Raven.”

Jaune got nervous as Yang crossed her arms, drawing herself up but thankfully she didn’t pursue it. He remembered the last time he had seen the headmaster, standing alone against Cinder as she had fire swirling around her, allowing him and Pyyrha to escape. A pang of grief and irritation spiked through his chest but he suppressed it. It looked like they were in for a long night of explanations and judging from the look on Yang’s face, Oscar wasn’t going to be the only one giving them. 

  
  



	18. The Calm

Yang found that she just couldn’t sleep. 

Her mind swirled with everything she had been told over the last few days culminating in was Osc- Ozpin, had told them just a few hours ago. That was another headache too. Oscar and Ozpin, two people inhabiting one body. She didn’t even know what to make of it. The blonde knew she would hate having no choice in the matter though Oscar himself didn’t seem to mind it so much. Just thinking of having someone else in her head made her shiver.

And then there was her biggest problem: Weiss. Her first opinion of her sister’s partner was a poor one, but that couldn’t be helped seeing the way that she had treated Ruby when they had first met. Over time the entire team had grown to love one another, or so she’d thought, but now the ex-heiress was keeping secrets and Blake was gone with the wind.

Letting out a sigh, Yang sat up and looked at her little sister. Her small snores signaled she was fast asleep. Her face looked so peaceful compared to the anguished expression she had been given when Yang had pressed Weiss for answers. Another bubble of anger surged but she suppressed it. It may have been a secret regarding Raven but it wasn’t worth it to alienate the ex-heiress. 

Yang’s bare feet padded on the floor as she got up. She figured if she couldn’t sleep she might as well take a walk, maybe get something to drink. She wasn’t often sleepless. She passed by Qrow who was passed out on the couch in the living room. Judging from the angle of his neck, he wasn’t going to have a good morning when the sun rose. 

The grass of the veranda felt slick against her bare feet and she shivered in the chilly night air. Walking up she placed her elbows on the stone railing and looked out over Mistral. This was something she’d done a lot lately, observing the sight from the terrace. She took a deep breath and let it out, watching her breath crystalize.

“Yang?” She turned to see Jaune, hair wet, toweling off his head at the edge of the house. He must have seen her on his way to his room, “What are you doing up? I thought everyone was in bed.”

“I could ask the same of you.” She turned around and forced a grin at him while leaning on the railing.

“I was just doing some late night training.” He let the towel hang around his neck and came to stand next to her., looking at the view like she had just been doing, “You okay?”

“Of course!” Her reply was immediate and he just looked at her, unimpressed, “Okay fine, no. I’m not. Happy?”

“Not really.”

She just rolled her eyes at him, “I just. I feel like there are so many secrets being kept from me. What Weiss said to my Mom. And Ozpin and Qrow are keeping us almost in the dark about all of this.”

“It feels like we aren’t being told the whole story.”

“Exactly!” Yang threw her arms up in frustration. 

“It’s their secret to tell, though, isn’t it?”

“What?!” Yang turned to face him and he was already staring at her. 

“Lots of people have secrets, Yang. That’s life. Pyyrha never told me what was bothering her even though we were partners. Everyone does it. You do it.”

“No I don’t.” She denied immediately and crossed her arms, daring him to say it again.

“Yes. You do.” He said it firmly while staring into her eyes. Jaune to a step closer until they were only inches apart. This was a side of him she was seeing more and more, “Your past. Your history with your mother. You keep it from people until they either need to know or you let them in. It’s not just you and it’s not bad but maybe you shouldn’t go digging into everything. Maybe we don’t know the whole story but do we really  _ need _ to know?”

She stared at him for a while. It made a lot of sense, except for where Raven was concerned of course, but he didn’t need to know that. Instead of arguing she just chuckled at it. He was right but he was wrong too. Still, the advice did make her calm down a little so she was thankful for that. 

Yang smirked at him, “We really do keep finding ourselves in these kinds of situations, don’t we?”

“The fact that everyone keeps coming to me late at night when I’m training?”

She quirked an eyebrow at that, “No. I meant how you always have great advice for me. All the way back in Patch, it’s always been you helping me out.”

“Eh. That’s nothing, Yang. I have seven sisters so I guess I just have experience settling feuds between them. Being the guy stuck in the sea of estrogen isn’t easy, you know.”

She couldn’t help it and she laughed. Like she hadn’t laughed in a long time and she just felt so relieved. Yang couldn’t believe how much Jaune helped her relax. Oh the sarcasm was great. She’d always thought of him as Ruby’s friend and never realized how cool he was. Not in the Neptune way but rather in that he treated her like another person. A normal person, she hadn’t once caught him staring at her chest. At least not when she hadn’t intended him to stare. 

He was easy to be around and with all of those other traits she found as a positive, like his loyalty to friends and family as well as his dedication to his training, she could see why Pyyrha had fallen so hard for the guy. Why she herself had. 

And that was it wasn’t it?

She, Yang Xiao-Long, had feelings for him, Jaune Arc. Yang looked him up and down. It was a far cry from how he’d been in Beacon, awkward and uncertain. Now he was more sure of himself, a lot more confident. He may not have been the strongest but it no longer felt like he was holding everyone else back, and he probably knew it too.

What Ruby had told her after the events at Kutsuri came back to her, “Hey Jaune, I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you for what you did for me. At Kutsuri.” She added when he looked confused.

“Oh that. I….” He trailed off and struggled for the words he wanted to say, “I didn’t want to lose you. I’ve lost Pyyrha and.. never again. Those were the thoughts going through my head. I would’ve tried to do that for anyone.”

Yang’s heart started racing.  _ He didn’t want to lose me? Idiot don’t get bent out of shape you know what he meant.  _ Even still she felt the heat creep up her neck and a devilish thought entered her mind.

“I still want to thank you Jaune, because you  _ did  _ save my life.” Before she lost the courage Yang stood on her toes and leaned forward. She felt his lips mash against hers, her hands rested on his chest for balance. She felt him stiffen in surprise under her hands until he relaxed. His arms came up instinctively around her hips and she enjoyed the sensation of his large hands enveloping her but she pushed away mere seconds later, cheeks aflame. 

Yang turned and strode off, back to the house, before turning around and affixing him with just one lilac orb, “Remember this, lover boy. Yang Xiao-Long doesn’t pussy-foot around. I go after what I want. Right now, that’s you.” 

The blonde made it all the way to her room before collapsing onto her bed. Ruby was still slumbering and she was glad for that. There would be no end to the questions and excitement if her sister had found out what she had just done. 

She’d kissed him and she could still feel it on her lips. It wasn’t quite like the other times she had been kissed, back in Signal. Those had been clumsy and rushed on the other person’s part. This one was different. She had initiated it and judging from his reaction, instinctual or not, he had not been against it, either.

She bit her lip, remembering the way his hands had curled around her hips. That had felt good, way too good. As she laid in bed the weight of his hands could still be felt on her. Her mind imagined what it would be like to feel those hands all over and her legs started rubbing together. 

For once she cursed sharing a room with her little sister.

  
  


“What. Just. Happened?” Jaune said aloud to himself. He’d been standing there like a statue for around a minute after Yang’s golden mane had disappeared back into the house. He felt like his bafflement could be justified considering what had, in fact, just happened. 

Yang had kissed him.

To his surprise it had tasted of peaches. Why he was surprised, he didn’t really know, but he was. Jaune’s first kiss had been from Pyyrha, cherry he remembered, and that had been rushed. The school was under siege and there had been chaos all around them. The two moments were similar in their own ways.

Both had been a surprise to him, leaving him unable to react. This one, however, wasn’t going to lead to something terrible. He grimaced and pushed the thought away. It was what had happened, he accepted that. But that didn’t mean he liked to dwell on it, not that Yang had reminded him of that.

And speaking of which, what the hell was he going to do about this? She had basically come out and said she liked him, right? Just thinking back on what she said to him caused the embarrassment to return and heat to suffuse his cheeks. That was one way to tell someone how you felt. Now the only problem he had was what was he going to do about it?

He liked Yang, he really did. But he didn’t know if that extended into feelings for the woman. She was a joy to be around, that was for sure. Despite the constant teasing she was cheerful and a rock for the group. She treasured her family and that was something that he admired. Being a big brother he found he could understand her very well. Her feelings towards Ruby as well as the feelings the younger sister had herself. 

His own family was full of chaos and he could imagine Yang fitting right in. Her blonde hair would have blended right into the family. Jaune could just see the kind of trouble she and Emeraude, his second oldest sister, would get into. 

He shivered at the thought. Maybe he shouldn’t let them meet. 

But when he actually considered it, she seemed like she would be at home with his family. Em would be over the moon at having someone to make trouble with. His father would probably double take at another blonde woman but ultimately would accept her.

Jaune’s mind flashed back to the moment she walked away, when one eye stared at him and a smirk could just barely be made out.  _ I go after what I want,  _ she had said. He didn’t doubt her either. The kiss still lingered and he put his fingers to his lips, the tingling sensation remained. He could still feel her body pressed against his and now he realized how much he wanted to feel that again.

The blond had to shake his head vigorously to dispel the imagination. He needed to get to bed and try to stop thinking about this. He could try and talk to Yang tomorrow, however, because at that moment he needed sleep, though his lower body reminded him that maybe he shouldn’t sleep quite yet.

He growled under his breath as he went into the house towards his own room. 

The black feathered bird watched as the last blond went inside the house, fixing it with one of its red eyes. With a rustle the bird took off and flew in the direction of Haven Academy.

* * *

  
  


Blake stood on the deck of the ship, the churning of the waves as they slipped through them in the dark matching the churning of her stomach. There was going to be a battle. People were going to die. She’d never liked the violence they had sought when she was a member of the White Fang and she still didn’t like it. But this was for a good cause, and not like the ‘good causes’ of the past. They were genuinely going to save people, non-violently if they could, and she could rest assured that the people going with her wanted the same.

“You should get some sleep. It’s gonna get crazy tomorrow.” Sun said as he approached. There were two cups of tea in his hands. From the smell of it as he handed it over to her it was calming chamomile tea. It was one of her favorites, her mother must have told him, though she couldn’t honestly be mad over such a thing. He  _ had  _ brought her tea after all. 

“I keep thinking of what’s going to happen. People are going to get hurt, on both sides. And I don’t even want to think about what if Adam succeeds.”

“We’ll stop him Blake. We’ll stop the White Fang and bring it back to the right path that it never should have left.” His hand was placed comfortingly on her shoulder and she could feel his warmth.

“Thank’s Sun. And I don’t think I’ve really said it but thanks for everything. You may not have been the friend I wanted but you’re the one I needed.”

He chuckled at her words, “Well I’ve got a promise to your team to keep after all.”

“What? You mean you weren’t just stalking me?” She had a small smile on her lips to show she didn’t mean anything by it. Truth be told he’d been an extraordinary help, she likely wouldn’t have made it without him. He had asked for nothing in return.

“Hey now.” He held his hands to his chest in mock hurt, “I’ll have you know not everything is about impressing you.”

She couldn’t help it and let out a small laugh. He really was just like a male version of Yang, just without the puns. Maybe he was an improvement then? 

“Seriously though, Blake. What I’m doing here. All of it? It’s because it’s what I feel is right. But if you’re impressed along the way well..” He smirked at her and she couldn’t help but laugh again. She  _ was  _ very grateful he had followed her, as weird as that sounded. At first she had thought him some lovesick fool who was following her out of some dogged determination to woo her. 

That misconception had been dashed rather quickly. While his feelings for her  _ were  _ rather obvious, he never made any kind of move. Nothing to deepen their relationship or try and get closer to her. He had just remained at arms length, determined to support her if need be. And she’d needed it.

She’d been too focused on other things to realize how much she missed her team but miss them she did. Having him here helped her hold herself together. After they wrapped up everything with the White Fang then she would go and find her team, find her partner, and apologize. 

But first she needed to prevent the fall of Haven. Adam would be there, like he had the last time, but this time she refused to run. She would face him if necessary but he wasn’t why she was going. No, what was truly important was preventing the disaster. She sighed and drained the last of her tea, feeling the fatigue of the day catch up to her. 

It really was going to be a big day tomorrow and everyone needed their sleep. She bumped shoulders with Sun, “Thanks for the tea Sun.”

She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek and then sauntered away, “One way or another. Everything ends tomorrow. Go get some rest yourself.”

* * *

  
  


“I don’t know why we needed to meet this late.” An exasperated Leo Lionheart sat down at his desk, glowering at his sudden guest. 

She stood there in her red and black outfit, one hand on her weapon. He didn’t know how they had gotten someone as strong as her under their thumb but she gave him a bad feeling. Though it wasn’t like they all didn’t. He hated this.

Every time he saw Salem’s face through that abominable Grimm it gave him chills but also reminded him of why exactly he was doing this. Salem was going to win. Ozpin had been fighting her for hundreds if not thousands of years and he had never won. Never would. 

“I’ve just got some details we need to work out, Leo.” She leaned over the desk to stare into his eyes, a predatory smirk coming over her face, “Qrow is here in Mistral. I want you to bring them to Haven tomorrow night. Do that, and I’ll take care of the rest.” 

After he nodded vigorously she stood up straight and backed up. A red portal opened up behind her and she stepped through it, vanishing like a bad dream though he knew better than to even entertain the thought. Leo slumped forward and hung his head into his hands.

“What have I gotten myself into?”


	19. The Storm Pt. 1

The call had come late for the group. Headmaster Lionheart said he had urgent news about the huntsmen required for the raid on Raven’s camp. Something about the decision going well with the Mistral Council and that they could leave immediately. Though it was getting dark everyone had suited up and there was a strange tension in the air. Yang could feel a tightening in her stomach that wouldn’t go away. It made her feel uneasy. She attributed it to the fact that she would probably meet her mother soon.

A quick glance at Weiss, new clothes having been acquired earlier in the day, who was walking quickly with them. The ex-heiress had a worried look on her face as well, something that could be seen on almost everyone except for Neo, who had the same easy confidence as usual. One hand rested on Myternaster as they made their way to the Academy. Yang felt something warm wrap around her hand on the other side and she looked to find Jaune there. His hand enveloped her and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing it. 

She ached to reach out and take his hand in hers again and cling to that reassuring presence but she knew she couldn’t. They all felt apprehension about facing the bandit tribe and now was not a time to let feelings take control. Ruby was up ahead by their uncle, her short legs having trouble keeping up with the long strides of the tall man. Nora stuck close to Ren and she had an unusually hawkish expression and glanced from side to side occasionally. 

Qrow burst through the large ornate double doors of the Haven atrium at a quick pace, his entourage trailing in behind him. Professor Lionheart stood on the second floor balcony, his expression worried. 

“Qrow! You’re here. And… there’s more students than you said.” The bearded man’s face instantly went on guard and Yang started realizing she didn’t like this man. He was behaving oddly. 

“Yeah… Kids, amirite? They just keep popping up out of nowhere. Like cockroaches.” This earned a rebuff from the ex-heiress. Yang looked around the atrium, it was so different from the one at Beacon. There was extensive wood paneling and carving on the railings, not to mention the gorgeous statue in the center that held up the balcony. As the young woman’s eyes trailed around the room, something caught her eye. A black bird sitting on the third floor balcony. 

_ That’s odd, they just let animals in?  _

The raven turned it’s red eyes on her and seemed to return her gaze, “Weird bird.” 

She didn’t say it very loud but Qrow heard it and his head snapped around and quickly located what she was staring at. A blur of motion and he drew his weapon and fired the gun attachment, pulverizing the wood the bird was sitting on, sending shards everywhere. The raven flew lazily around the room until it dove to the ground a short distance in front of them.

She wasn’t sure when the shift happened but in the blink of an eye a woman was standing there in place of the bird.

Yang’s blood froze in her body. 

She knew who this was, had seen her in person once before, had seen her in old photos. Raven, Yang’s mother, stood in front of her, a cocky smirk on her face as she stared down her brother. The woman didn’t even spare a glance for her daughter. Though her eyes did flicker towards a particular ex-heiress. 

“It’s a little rude to shoot at your sister, dear brother.” 

Yang saw Ruby’s head swivel back and give her a strange look. Her sister knew who the woman was, so did Jaune if the look on his face from right besides her was anything to go by. She could practically hear him gulp. 

“Yang your eyes.” This brought her out of her thoughts and she looked at Ruby and then she felt it. Bubbling there just beneath the surface. It was a simmering rage, like the embers of a fire, waiting to grow into an inferno at the slightest stimulation. Her eyes glew crimson and for once she didn’t repress the feeling. Instead she kept it there, ready and waiting. Everyone had tensed the moment the woman had transformed from a bird. And wasn’t that something to see. She’d heard it from Qrow but that didn’t prepare you for actually seeing it. 

She turned back into the exchange between her uncle and her mother in time to hear her say, “Well Brother, if you want her come get her.”

The blood red blade swung down and a dark pulsating red and black vortex sprung to life, issuing forth a fireball. Qrow deflected it easily with his large blade. 

* * *

Ruby watched as  _ she  _ came out of the vortex, her hips swaying with her gait. Her stump twinged at the sight of her, a painful pinch that reminded the young woman of  _ exactly  _ what had been taken from her. Crescent Rose was in her arms, deployed, before she could even think about. She hadn’t noticed drawing her weapon at all. Her grip tightened around her weapon as she looked upon the woman in a red dress.

The others, Mercury, Emerald, and one she didn’t recognize, fanned out of the portal. The silver haired man rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He looked at Yang and winked, Ruby had to resist the urge to try and cut him down. 

“Hey blondie, I’m here for an apology for my legs.”

“I’ll help even it out by trimming up the top.” Jaune said, stepping in between the man and Yang. I sneer appeared on the man’s face as he considered the other blond in front of him.

“Raven. How long have you been working with them?” Qrow voice was choked with rage. 

“Aw Qrow. Are you worried about your sister? Shouldn’t you be asking that question to dear Leo over here?”

Qrow’s face drew in tight and his eyes grew hard, “Dammit Leo, Why?”

“Because it’s the only way to survive Qrow!” The fire in his eyes faded rapidly and he couldn’t meet the eyes of the black haired man. 

“Fuckin’ coward.” The vitriol in the comment seemed to slap the headmaster in the face as he flinched when Qrow said it.

A large noise sounded from behind the group and Ruby turned to see a large man in a pale green coat stride in and close the ornate double doors behind him. His lumbering steps echoed in the silent atrium. 

“The White Fang have finished their preparations.” He grumbled in a deep, sonorous voice as he continued his march into the school, “There will be no escaping for you.”

Ruby turned back and saw  _ her  _ with that incessant smile on her face. She stood there looking pleased with herself. Cinder murdered Pyyrha, had Penny killed, and took her arm. The black feeling welled up inside of her, something ugly she hadn’t felt so powerfully before. She glared at that mocking smile. 

And something snapped.

“How dare you.” She felt the words come out of her mouth, “You killed Penny, Pyyrha, and all those innocents!” Ruby felt her chest heaving and her jaw clench, “And all of it with a smile on your face!” The reaper’s voice reached a crescendo and before she knew it her feet carried her forwards.

Everything happened in slow motion. Crescent Rose came down and it was blocked by a sword made of molten rock. In the muted distance she could hear people crying her name but that didn’t matter. Ruby was a Huntress and she hunted monsters.

There was a monster standing before her.

* * *

_ Looks like the time for talking is over.  _ Jaune surmised as Ruby dashed out to strike at Cinder. He could feel Yang burst into motion beside him as she rushed to support her sister. His hand fell to Crocea Mors and twisted a small section on the hilt as he drew it forth. In the same motion the sheath expanded into a large, two handed sword. 

The blond followed close in behind the blonde berzerker but was interrupted by a flash of green and silver. A cocky smirk from the silver haired man had Jaune’s blood boiling.

“About that apology.” Mercury slammed on fist into another.

“Do you ever shut up Mercury?” The green haired girl rolled her red eyes, “Let’s just hurry up and kill them already.”

Yang’s voice came out in a low growl, “Out of my way.” 

Jaune brought his sword up into a charging stance. This was the moment of truth. He’d have liked to think he’d learned enough to be able to fight one of them off. But with two of them was he confident he could watch Yang’s back?

No. That didn’t matter. Jaune’s eyes narrowed and he tightened his grip. It was either he did or he didn’t, and he wasn’t about to lose her. Levelling Crocea Mors he did something none of them would expect. He charged first. 

In his mind the tip of his sword pierced through the girl’s chest. Reality was much different. She nimbly dodged, letting him pass right by her and delivering several brutal strikes to his open back. A loud crack resounded and he looked back to see fist meeting foot as Mercury challenged Yang. Emerald had already turned to try and team up against the blonde and Jaune wouldn’t let her. With a cry he stood up and swung at her back. The green haired girl’s eyes widened as she brought her weapons up to block him. 

That turned out to be a mistake as his sword powered through her guard, the weight plus his strength making it a formidable force, as the blade gouged into the ground Jaune stepped forward and brought his blade into and upswing. Emerald managed to dodge to the side but just barely. Her eyes narrowed as she reassessed him. A certain satisfaction came over him as he realized he was actually a threat to her now, she couldn’t afford to turn her back on him and he had proven it. Now he just needed to win against her. 

It proved a lot more difficult than he’d thought, and he’d thought it would be difficult in the first place. She was incredibly flexible, second only to Neo, and her weapon held an advantage and close, mid, and long range over his. The blond had to switch to his sword and shield form rather quickly. Aside from the surprise attack the two-handed formation was too slow to catch a nimble fighter like Emerald head on.

He caught another series of shots on his shield. Jaune didn’t have the luxury of taking his eyes off of his opponent to see how she was doing but the sounds of fists clashing assured him that she was still in the fight. The knight had managed to land a few glancing blows but none were punishing and he took a few hits in return. He could feel his breath starting to get ragged and by the looks of it, his opponent was starting to get run down too. All he needed was to capitalize one one mistake she made. 

A loud voice shouted through the din of combat, “Enough!”

  
  


* * *

“I don’t want to hurt children.” 

The large newcomer’s voice rumbled out of his throat making Ren and Nora tense up. The man was enormous, though he seemed soft spoken. 

Nora hefted her hammer and Ren readied Stormflower, “We don’t want to fight you.”

“But we will if you’re with  _ her _ .” Nora finished her partner’s sentence. 

The large man closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Very well.” As if a switch was flipped when he opened his eyes again he was charging at a speed much faster than his great size belied. Nora ducked, weaved, and parried his advancing blows while Ren attempted to strike the man’s sides. He simply shrugged them off as he grabbed Magnhild and hefted the ginger, weapon and all, over his shoulder. 

She grimaced as she impacted the ground and Ren came up, slicing away at their foe. His blades skittered across the man’s aura and did nothing but irritate him. Stormflower barked out a short rapport but the rounds didn’t even faze the man. 

Nora got back up and stood once more with her partner, staring down the mountain of a man before them. They didn’t need to look at each other to tell what they were thinking, they had been together too long for that. As their shoulders touched, no words passed between them, their minds connected like no other. They were of one mind, one soul, and two bodies. When one moved the other would follow. They would be together no matter what happened. Ren could feel his partner tense like a coiled spring. He knew what she was about to do and she knew what he would do in response. 

Together, as one, they charged. 

* * *

  
  


_ This is my fight, Oscar. You haven’t had the training for this yet. _

Oscar walked up the steps to face the headmaster of Haven Academy. His heart was thumping in his chest as he gave control over to Ozpin. The man, ghost, whatever, was right. Despite what little training he’d done on the way to Haven, he hadn’t had the time to even be able to confront a huntsman on his own. 

The feeling was still weird, even having done it a dozen times by now. He could still feel his body, he could still hear, smell, and touch, but he felt his limbs move on their own. His hands tense around the handle of the cane, his weapon. At once it felt familiar, welcome, and also strange and new. He’d never seen it before the other day yet it felt like he’d been holding it for so many years. 

Those types of things happened a lot. As he looked at the headmaster in front of him he felt a weird sense of nostalgia. The man looked old, older than he should have been. Like Oscar had known the man a long time ago. And, in a way, he had. Or rather Ozpin had and those memories carried over. He didn’t have access to those memories but most times he had a feeling as if he could almost recall something, a memory being just out of reach.

“ _ I’m rather disappointed in you, Leonardo. I saw such great potential in you. _ ” 

“Ozpin.” The headmaster’s eyes widened and he took a step back, “No. You can’t be here!”

“ _ And yet here I am Leonardo. I thought you understood what was at stake. But now, at this critical point, I find that you’ve betrayed us to Salem.”  _ He took another step up the stairs, cane in hand and the headmaster took another step backwards, his back hitting the railing.

“You don’t understand! She would have killed me!”

“ _ You are right.”  _ Oscar felt his mouth move, “ _ I don’t understand.”  _

A panicked look came across the man’s face as he raised his hand, a strange gauntlet attached to his wrist. It opened up into a discus like shape, a strange glowing interface coming to life above it. Though Oscar didn’t know what it was he knew what it did, as the headmaster touched a node on the surface a ball of fire appeared before his weapon. Spinning the disc on top he touched another node and a ball of rock appeared inside the flames, changing the nature of the attack as he launched it at Oscar.

His hand moved on it’s own, both Oscar and Ozpin knowing what was coming and deflecting the attack without much effort. The young boy felt his breathing come under control, his heart rate slow from the thumping it had been. He was surprisingly calm even though he had relinquished control of his own body. He had a feeling that he’d been through far worse situations. 

With each attack he deflected he took another step towards the headmaster until he finally reached him, his cane snapped out and prevented the headmaster from attacking again. Oscar felt that he was weak, far weaker than someone who was charged with protecting something so important should be. The man looked panicked, terrified, and so out of his wits that he could barely stand. The young man almost felt sorry for him. 

“Enough!” The voice cut through, feminine and commanding. Oscar’s head snapped to the side and he felt his blood chill at the sight of what he saw.

* * *

  
  


Ruby slashed and spun and never let up against Cinder. Every blow was blocked and she did so in return to the woman’s counter attacks. She felt herself pushing her semblance to its fullest, twisting and turning out of the way of the flaming blades the woman wielded. It had been at most several minutes but she was already panting and the woman looked naught a hair out of place. 

She remembered what Qrow had said to her just the other day, a flaw in her fighting style. Her scythe was meant for monsters, and though a monster was in front of her she needed something else to deal with one wearing human skin. 

Bringing Crescent Rose close to her body she jumped and fired downwards at the same time. The force propelled her upwards where she went into a slashing spin down at the woman. Of course Cinder danced just out of reach but Ruby wasn’t done yet. Her boots hit the haft and she reached her hand down and grasped Rose Thorn in her hand. Thumbing the switch the blade started leaping out of the compact weapon as she drew it forth. 

The blade cut a silver flash out and across at Cinder’s neck. Her eyes focused on the new weapon and with a grimace she tried to pull her face away but not before it scratched across her face. A black mask was revealed as her blade scored across it, cutting off some of her bangs. Her right hand came up and covered the mask. Her cocky veneer cracked and rage blossomed over her face.

“How dare you!” She screeched. Her hand came away from her face and a blast of fire roared towards the young reaper. She crossed her arms in front of her as the flames washed over her and blew her down off her scythe. Quickly she patted down the embers singing her clothes as she felt the monster come close. Her palm was pointed down and an orange glow proceeded another gout of flame that Ruby rolled away from.

The red cloaked girl came up in a crouch, blade held at the ready before her facing the wrathful face of Cinder.

“You’ve interfered for that last time, girl! I’m going to incinerate you like your red headed friend.” Cinder’s amber eye was narrowed at the subject of her eyes even as silver eyes narrowed in return.

“You’re nothing but a monster Cinder, and I’m going to end you before you can hurt anyone else!”

Ruby lowered her stance and brought Rose Thorn to her hip. Before she could activate her semblance she heard a voice ring out over the sounds in the atrium.

“Enough!” Both Ruby and Cinder’s heads snapped in the direction of the voice.

Ruby felt her heart drop as she saw Weiss, her partner, in the hands of the enemy. The person who had shouted was none other than Raven, her blood red blade held to the ex-heiress’ throat. A red line of blood slid down the girl’s pale neck, she must not have any aura left. Her clothes had cuts and singes in them from whoever had been her opponent. 

Qrow stood glaring at the young woman with short hair that had come through with the other enemies, her cocky smirk directed at the older hunstman even though she favored her shoulder. 

“Leo! Open the vault!” With a start the headmaster rushed to do as the bandit said. When Oscar made to move she tightened her grip and glared at him. He froze at that. Everyone else had stopped what they were doing and only laboured breathing could be heard in the silence that befell the atrium. 

The headmaster fumbled with some small golden thing, a pocket watch it looked like, and placed in on the statue. A rumble and the statue started receding down into the floor, it slowed to a near stop when the large plate it held above it came even with the ground. Raven dragged the heiress over to the platform and the short haired woman stood on it. 

“The next time I see you, I’ll kill you.” With those parting words Cinder went to join the other woman on the plate, nodding briefly to the mountain of a man who had been fighting Ren and Nora.

Raven lowered her head and whispered to the white haired girl before planting a knee in her back, driving her to the ground and stepping onto the platform. The speed of it as it went down grew the further it went until the three women descended out of sight, a final mocking smile from Cinder and a look of nothing from the bandit leader. A sudden flash of yellow movement and Yang started sprinting towards the elevator. 

Just as she reached the opening, ice erupted from the ground, covering the entrance. Yang slammed a fist into it and whirled at the source.

“Weiss, what the fuck!”

The ex-heiress stood, Myternaster in hand with it’s tip pointed in the ground, “I’m sorry Yang. But this is for the best.”   



	20. The Storm Pt. 2

Raven felt the shuddering of the lift stop as the large plate stopped at the bottom of the vast underground vault. It was, she decided, utterly pretentious and screamed ‘Ozpin’. It was just like him to design this place and she almost sneered at it. Why go through so much effort for a place that no one would ever truly see?

The gate in front of them rattled as it receded into the ground and at Cinder’s behest Vernal was the first to step out.At the end of the stone pathway was a massive golden door set into an equally impressive tree. The leaves of the tree glowed with magical power as they sprouted from the branches.A sidelong look at the woman next to her shower Cinder’s focus solely on Raven’s young protege. 

The woman’s left hand instinctively went to her sword but she stayed it, she needed to bide her time well for this. The power of a Maiden was not something to take chances with and the woman before her was Salem’s chosen. The hungry eyes that tracked Vernal told Raven everything she needed to know, everything she had suspected since they had come to her camp to force her to help them. 

This woman craved power like a man dying of thirst. 

A low ringing sound echoed throughout the chamber as Vernal stepped out onto one of the large circles. Looking down Raven saw that she had stepped off the elevator herself as it happened. A quick look to the third person showed she hadn’t noticed, attention still firm on the one she thought was the maiden. 

Vernal stopped short of the massive door, head craning to see the top of it. Cinder walked up beside her and whispered something to her. The other woman turned to look back at Raven, seeking permission. The bandit leader only nodded for her to continue but stood a little back, losing her sword in its sheath.

This was it. The moment her hasty plan came to fruition, The moment they had showed up at her camp Raven knew that they would continue to chase her to the ends of Remnant. However the bandit leader had a third option holed away in a cage in her camp. The young ex-heiress. The prisoner had given her an idea and she had quickly formed a plan using the pieces in play. Cinder wanted to kill Summer’s child and so Raven had played a long. She knew Qrow and her daughter were traveling with the young, silver eyed girl. 

And so the bandit leader had let them think they bested her, had let them think they had the advantage in their interaction. She had a talk with the white haired girl, revealed long held secrets of Ozpin’s, and then sent her to Yang after making her agree to the plan. This was the only way for Raven and the Branwen tribe to survive. Like it or not the leader of the tribe had a target painted on her back. So it was simple, if she really, truly, wanted to secure her survival there was something that needed to happen.

Cinder Fall needed to die. 

Slowly, silently, her hand drifted to her sword as she watched the woman’s back. Vernal was in front of the door now. Her hand reaching up, hovering above the surface and tracing one of the patterns etched into it. 

“You know, Raven, I’ve heard stories about you.” Cinder drawled on and Raven graped her hilt, “That you’re a cunning leader. That you’re strong. That you’re clever. It’s a shame that they’re wrong.” 

Cinder looked back and Raven made to leap forward but a flash of power from the woman’s hand had the bandit leader frozen in place. She felt the chill creep around her as her aura protected her from the damage. She felt the rage bubble forth from within her as she heard a Vernal cry out in pain. The ice flaked from her eyes first as she generated heat with her powers and she saw what had happened to her protege.

An inky black limb extended from Cinders left shoulder and had impaled Vernal. Raven stepped up the heat and growled deep in her throat. 

Suddenly Cinder cried out in pain, the limb being severed in two by a flash of steel. Vernal sunk to her knees, hands covering her wound as a fourth person stepped in front of the downed bandit. With a twirl of an umbrella a multicolored girl stepped out with a smirk on her face. 

“You mute bitch!” Screeched Cinder as she held what was left of her Grimm arm to herself, “I should have had you killed with that mascera wearing clown! I’m going to fix that mistake.”

The ice fully cracked and crumbled as Raven stepped free, “Now now Cinder. Don’t go forgetting about me. I have a favor I need to repay you.” 

She pulled on the power, feeling it ignite within her as she drew it’s full might to the surface. It had always been a weird feeling, the flames coming from her eyes. This time she relished it as she shot towards the woman, her sword impacting the hastily made one summoned by Cinder, their bodies colliding with stone that cracked under the pressure. 

For Raven, the world fell away and there was only this opponent. How long had it been since she had felt the rush of true combat? She couldn’t remember but she knew this.

Only one of them would walk away from this.

  
  


* * *

The enemy didn’t wait for Yang to question her teammate. They didn’t wait patiently so she could interrogate Waiss and find out why she was helping the enemy. Though from the way that they attacked her, the enemy didn’t know they were working together. It was so confusing and Yang resolved to beat the answers out of the girl later, if they survived this.

The big guy had gone nuts screaming Ozpin over and over again before tearing his shirt off and sticking dust into his arms. Then, with the single minded determination that only a berserk rage can induce, proceeded to try and make Oscar’s face one with his fist. That had snapped everyone out of the odd standoff they’d been in and caused Mercury and Emerald to come back at them with a vengeance. 

With the exit of Raven, Cinder, and that other woman they had the numbers advantage and it showed. They were tenacious but they were fighting a losing battle. The big man himself was taking on a lot of people and not even slowing down however. Qrow was winded and Oscar was slowing down. Ren, Nora, and Ruby were trying to help but he was tossing them around like toys. 

Jaune caught a kick from Mercury on his shield as Weiss started summoning her knight. A great fireball caught the summon in the chest and it disappeared. Yang forced Emerald back and leapt over Jaune to kick straight and the silver haired man’s head. Even though he rolled back and away the blonde continued to engage him as Jaune turned to attack the green haired woman. The ex-heiress summoned a wall between them and the headmaster who was continuing to fire at them from a distance.

Fireballs immediately started taking chunks out of the wall as Weiss went to support Jaune. He was having a hard time against the illusions Emerald could make him see. The ex-heiress danced around and every time the blond blocked a strike she stabbed out with Myternaster. 

A tremendous crash erupted and when Yang turned to look she saw a hole had been blasted out of the atrium and a very displeased Nora breathing heavily. The pause was all Weiss needed and she tried summoning again. 

* * *

  
  


It was finally time for her to face her greatest regret. Blake stared across at Adam, a man she had once loved, as he tried to destroy Haven. This wasn’t the Adam she knew, the man who had once held her tenderly as she wept. The man before her was a monster, a cold blooded killer who sought to sow chaos and fear. They had arrived just in time too. She could spy the explosives attached to the school. He was going to do it again, no he would try. Things would be different this time. She had promised herself that. 

The cat faunus gripped her hands tight into fists to keep them from shaking, the scene from Beacon replaying in her mind. She could almost see Yang laying in a pool of her own blood. The man before her was responsible for many atrocities and he was  _ her  _ responsibility. But more than that he looked far gone, unstable. The eyes she could see from under his mask looked wide. 

This was no longer the man she once knew, Blake reaffirmed her resolve here. Nothing more could be done, she had tried to save him, once, and that had resulted in the deaths of many. Ultimately, on the way here, she had realized she had not come here for him. She came here for the faunus, her people. 

“Oh Blake. You came to me yourself. I knew you couldn’t stay away.”

“I’m not here for you, Adam. I’m here for Haven.” Blake turned to address the other members with Adam, “This isn’t what the White Fang stands for! By doing this, by harming innocents, we are proving to humanity that the way they see us is right! I made that mistake, once, and now I’m here to fix that. I’ve seen both sides and I can tell you that this is not the way to achieve equality!”

“Equality?  _ Humans _ are not our equals!” Adam shouted, “They are beneath us. They should serve the faunus! They should pay for what they have done!”

“Vengeance is not the way!”

“And who’s going to stop me, you? What can you do alone?” His voice lowered and nothing could be heard but the sounds of combat from inside the school. Blake looked up at the tower and saw a shadow of movement that meant Ilia was working on the explosives. She prayed that the woman was done, she couldn’t keep Adam busy for much longer.

“Nothin, Adam. But then again, I’m not alone.” On cue the rest of the faunus with her stepped out of the treelines and into view. Easily a hundred faunus from Menagerie had joined her and it made Blake’s heart soar to see her people stand as one for the right reasons. She could even see the light of recognition in a few of Adam’s White Fang members as they saw their brothers, sisters, mother, and fathers among the ranks of those trying to stop them. 

The cat faunus saw Adam grit his teeth in anger, her heart falling again as she once again knew that there was at least one person who wouldn’t be saved. A flash of light caught her eye from the tower, nothing more than a laser pointer but it was enough. It was the signal that Ilia had disabled all of the bombs. 

“Surrender A-” A large crash sounded and a portion of the school’s wall gave way, a large man came crashing through and skidded to a halt a number of feet away. He clambered to his feet and eyed the situation with a benign calm. To her horror Blake saw massive dust crystals embedded into his arms.

Adam looked back at the man, “Problems, Hazel?”

Hazel’s eyes narrowed at the faunus, “Nothing that I cannot handle.” He swept his gaze over the gathered people, “Looks like you’ve run into problems as well.”

Adam’s face contorted with rage and as he was about to answer a piercing klaxon and a floodlight lit up the area, sweeping over the gathered people. Several air ships belonging to the Mistral Police Force and Kali could be spotted in the bay of one of the ships. An announcement could be heard calling for the surrender of the White Fang.

“It’s over Adam. Surrender to us.”

The man cast a sidelong look at Blake, eyes full of fury and rage. He lifted his hand, thumb over the button of a device held there, “No. This is only the beginning.” His thumb slammed down and everyone flinched, even Hazel in the background but when nothing happened Blake’s heart started to slow a little. Ilia had come through all right. 

He stood there, seething, “Kill them.” He growled and leapt forward at Blake. The blood red blade flashed out at her but she was ready. She wasn’t the same scared girl she had been when Beacon had fallen. She wasn’t running anymore.

Leaving a clone in her wake the black haired girl dodged to the side, the blade sailing through the heart of the clone. Adam’s feral eyes turned to her but it was too late as she lashed out with a vicious kick to his side, sending him sprawling to the ground. The other White Fang members had been engaged by both the Peace faction and the Mistral Police Force. Sun jumped into a group a whirl of gold and red as he laid out several members. It looked like he was being careful to not kill anyone and it brought the briefest hint of a smile to her face until she looked back at the man sprawled before her. 

He was crazed, feral, and more like the animal the racists claimed all faunus were than he ever had been before. There was no finesse anymore, no skill. He had always been far and above her in talent but that was gone, replaced with a single minded rage directed at the humans and those that would seek peace. He was a shadow of the man she once knew and one she would gladly put behind bars, even kill, to bring peace and equality to her people. 

“What do we do?” Adam looked to the burly man with dust in his veins who cracked his knuckles. Blake started dreading this man getting involved, all of her instincts screamed not to fight him. 

“This is your business. Fix it.” The feeling of relief Blake had was almost palpable but she forced herself to stay on guard. She still had Adam to deal with. 

With a snarl he charged back at her and she snapped Gambol Shroud into position while a whirl of gold and red flashed into Adam’s side and he moved to block Sun’s sudden attack. There was a lull in the melee as Blake and the blond faunus stood shoulder to shoulder facing him. A wet thud sounded and they looked towards the origin of it. Something white pierced the large man named Hazel and it extended all the way back into the school.

Blake almost cursed herself for forgetting that fact, she’d been so focused on stopping the White Fang that she’d failed to remember that someone was fighting inside the building and that Hazel and whoever his cohorts were allies of Adam. That meant their enemies were potentially friends and whatever had pierced the large man was done by someone that could be a friend.

The bearded man looked down, eyes wide, and made no move to cry out but the surprise was there on his face. It had caught him unaware and suddenly the long object twitched and contracted pulling the man backwards at incredible speed until he was out of sight. 

Sun rushed at Adam while everyone was still staring at where Hazel had disappeared. His shotguns roared in a complex pattern as the bull faunus deflected every shot. Blake rushed in to try and flank him but he saw through that and backed off, sheathing his blade. The blond made to rush but the cat faunus grabbed his collar and forced him against the floor as a red wave of energy flashed in the space where they had just been standing. By the time they stood they could see the figure of Adam retreating into the treeline. 

Sun scrambled to his feet but was held back again by Blake, “Stop. He wants us to follow so he can deal with us one by one. Leave him. Stopping the rest of the White Fang is more important.” 

The blond nodded at her, “Alright. Be careful Blake.” He squeezed her shoulder with one hand and she gripped his hand briefly before they went their separate ways. 

She jogged through the chaos towards the hole in what looked like the school atrium. She had a burning question, if Adam had more allies like that Hazel guy then she needed to know if the people defending the school needed help. 

Her breath caught in her chest when she saw what awaited her, something she never would have guessed. It was too soon, she wasn’t ready for this. Her team was here, why? No the why didn’t matter as they caught sight of her. Ruby was the first, her silver eyes widening in surprise. Weiss was next and seemingly the least surprised or maybe she just hid it well. It seems the thing that had impaled Hazel was done by her, a massive Queen Lancer floated protectively near her. Yang was the last, turning away only after seeing the other two’s reactions. It was a naked reaction, one that bespoke how she really felt. It was a small affair. Her scarlet eyes widened in surprise and Blake could almost see her stamping down on her emotions as her expression stiffened and became guarded. 

The cat faunus forced herself to look over the battle. Mercury and Emerald were there, panting heavily. The large man was facing off against at least four people and some other, older gentleman was being cornered by Jaune of all people.

Silver and amber met across the battlefield and her young leader nodded to her and she felt herself returning the gesture. They were here and they were doing fine, she needed to go and make sure the White Fang were under control.

That was her responsibility.

  
  


* * *

Cinder felt the wind leave her lungs as she was slammed into another pillar and her anger spiked again. Yet another loose end that wasn’t tied up. It irked her but in the end she knew nothing would stand in the way of her destiny. She looked into the grinning eyes of her adversary, Raven Branwen. Amber eyes narrowed in on pale red as a bolt of lightning blasted through where she had been merely moments earlier. 

She charged the power through her one good hand, and didn’t that thought bring her rage to a new level, and felt the heat blast out in a jet towards her opponent who smoothly dodged it midair with a blast of her own, nudging herself to the side. Raven landed hard, her heels cracking rock as she landed on the pillar next to Cinder, her blade driving down into the stone beside her head. 

She had trained long and hard back at Salem’s tower in order to master the new arm she had been granted and yet that midget had severed it. Not only that but she had been tricked by Raven into believing the Vernal girl was the Spring Maiden when it was the bandit leader herself. Cinder had to admit the woman was clever though the subterfuge would undoubtedly prove futile in the end. Now, though, she would need to kill this maiden. She couldn’t very well keep her alive all the way back to Salem. 

No, she would beat her to near death, open the vault, and then kill her. Then she would kill that small woman too. 

It wouldn’t bring back her arm but it would be satisfying. 

She lashed out with a blast of energy that caught the Branwen in the side, sending her flying where she dug her sword into the ground to steady herself. Cinder felt her feet leave the ground as she gathered more and more power to herself. Flames orbited her and heat radiated out from her. Small bursts of fire shot out from her corona towards the woman in red and black. A wall of ice formed between them and the projectiles hissed as them exploded against the thick ice. 

The wall exploded outwards and Cinder burnt the shards down as they flew towards her but something else smashed against her heat barrier. It was a sword of ice held in the hands of her enemy, forming just as fast as it was melting and the tip approaching her steadily. All of her power went to that one point and exploded outwards melting the sword and sending the woman to crack against the opposite wall her head snapping back. 

Cinder grinned in satisfaction and that smile was returned by the infuriating woman. All the information she had pointed to the woman being strong but this was ridiculous. Her mastery of the Maiden’s power rivaled her own and had they not had their powers Cinder could not imagine walking away unscathed from crossing swords with the woman. This woman preached strength and it was obvious that she embodied that aspect as well. 

The Fall Maiden summoned her flaming sword at hand but it felt like an empty gesture. Her style was two handed and missing one, while not crippling, was a disadvantage for which Raven was punishing her. The woman constantly attacked from her wounded side though was careful as to not be predictable. Cinder summoned a short sword to her hand and pushed off the ground once again, aliting to the air as she soared towards her target. 

A tremendous crack resounded throughout the cavern as the two forces collided. Sparks showered around them as their blades ground together. Cinder was propelled back with a kick from the bandit leader, heel digging into her but her aura stopping any real damage. Grunting she gained some distance from Raven, eyes narrowing at the woman as she pointed her sword at her.

The red eyed woman cracked her neck, a smile on her face. The bitch was enjoying this. 

“You’ve put up quite a fight, Cinder. It’s too bad you weren’t as strong or as clever as you thought you were.” 

Of course she would throw those words back at her, Cinder bit down on a retort, refusing to take her eyes off of the other woman. She no longer had any illusions as to what would happen here. She had failed. Now she needed to get away. As long as she still held the Fall Maiden powers she could still be of use to Salem. Now she burned with hatred towards this woman. 

“If you were, you’d have maybe remembered to watch your back.” 

Cinder’s blood went ice cold in an instant as a realization struck her. She hadn’t seen the diminutive woman since the fight had begun, she had all but forgotten her existence in the struggle to fight off Raven. She had made a critical error.

She whirled around to see a brown and pink eyed smirk as a blade point skittered off her aura right across her chest. Then she felt it, her aura failing her a strange cold emptiness in her stomach. Cinder realized she’d made a second critical error as a vicious visage filled her view. Her hand felt sluggish as she tried to bring her weapon to bear, she knew she wouldn’t make it in time and panic started to mount within her. 

Raven’s palm impacted her black mask and then her vision flashed white. Before she knew it her body was in free fall, her muscles spasming from the electric shock she had just received. 

Cinder was falling.

Even as her body dipped over the edge of the stone pier she fought for control, the electricity finally fading as she saw Raven step up to the edge. Adrenaline spiked through her nerves and she tried to draw the dregs of her power out to defend herself. A glimmer from the outstretched hand and suddenly she felt cold, too cold. It spread out across her body making her limbs stiff. 

She couldn’t move anymore as the seconds stretched into eternity. Her eyes locked with the vacant pale red orbs of Raven Branwen. The smirk that had been ever present was gone, replaced with plain disinterest. Never had she hated anyone more than that woman right then. A second figure appeared and this one did have a smirk. A vicious, almost feral, smile plastered across her face all but saying  _ I’ve won.  _

No, they wouldn’t have the satisfaction. As her eyes froze over and she felt nothing but weightlessness her thoughts drifted to someone else. 


	21. Arresting Momentum

They were winning, for the most part. Yang glanced back over at her sister and could see them struggling with the mountain of a man who had taken a particular interest in Oscar, or rather Ozpin. Her uncle was looking rather winded himself, taking a breather just off to the side so he could go back in. The others were faring worse with Ren having been rendered unconscious and Nora flying into a rage. 

But despite all that and even getting pierced by Weiss’ Queen Lancer the man was still going strong and throwing the group around and tanking hits. He was a monster.

It was also obvious to her that Mercury had been faking in the Vytal Festival against her. He was head and shoulders above where he had been in the tournament. As her fist met his boot once more the two were forced apart by the impact. Another sidelong glance saw Jaune cornering the Headmaster on the stairs and Weiss fencing with Emerald. 

A boot came sailing towards Yang’s face and she deflected it with her left gauntlet and struck out simultaneously towards his knee joint which forced him to twist it out of the way. As he did his hands planted on the ground and his other leg spun up towards her. The blast from his boots caught only air as it rushed over her head when she ducked. A low sweep from her tried to catch his hands but he danced from hands back to feet before striking back at her. 

They had been trading equally for a while now, neither being able to get a solid hit in, though that only made her more dangerous. Every strike she took could just be redirected at him and as the fight dragged on she held onto the growing energy, biding her time for the perfect chance to hit him with the full force of her semblance. She was angry, beyond angry even, but ever since that fight with that Tyrian guy she had felt focus in her anger. Something had changed in her. Something had just clicked into place after her training with her father.

A figure came running from the hole in the atrium, a figure dressed in black and white with her black hair trailing after her. She leapt into the air with a yell and planted both feet onto the large man before vaulting away and landing next to Ruby. Both Emerald and Mercury broke off from their fights to join the man, flanking him on both sides. 

Blake took up a position on her right side, Gambol Shroud at the ready and a quick glance at her partner. Weiss came in on her left and Ruby on the other side of her. Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Qrow lined up with them. Yang suddenly felt her heart calm down, her partner was back, right where she should be. 

_ Crack! _

Everyone’s attention was inevitably drawn to the source of the sound that bounced around the interior of the atrium they were battling in. It came from the ice in the center of the room that covered the hole through with Cinder, Raven, and that other woman had disappeared into earlier. Something had happened, they had all felt the tremors, but no one could go after them after Weiss had closed it off with her ice. And wasn’t that something Yang was going to interrogate the white haired girl over when they were done. 

And they would win, too. No matter who came out of the hole, they would be subdued. The spotlights outside and the appearance of Blake, that had been surprising, had confirmed that more allies were outside. Though from the glimpses she had taken out the enormous hole in the wall it looked like White Fang were outside. Maybe Blake being here wasn’t as surprising then, considering her obsession with the terrorist organization. She shook her head at the bitter thought that the girl wasn’t there for her  _ partner.  _

A confident smirk crossed Mercury’s face as the cracking sound continued until with a horrendous shriek the ice dome shattered, shards exploding out and pelting the entire room as a gout of fire shot up and scorched the ceiling. Everyone waited with baited breath as the figures on the platform rose into sight. In the center was Raven holding a large object in one hand and the short haired woman clutching her stomach was hanging off the bandit leader’s other side. 

The last figure surprised everyone, Neo with the smile of the cat that ate the canary and Cinder was nowhere in sight. Everything in the room froze. The realization slowly dawned across the room and it was Emerald who was the first to react. 

The green haired girl sank to her knees, eyes wide. Her mouth opened and an ear piercing wail erupted from her throat and then morphed into something else, something not quite human. The room darkened, the lights dimming to near dark and the shadows coalesced in the center of the room. A figure appeared and grew from those shadows. It reared back, it’s pale head nearly scraping the roof. 

Yang’s pulse quickened as her eyes changed back to lilac and laid transfixed on the dark sclera and blood red eyes of the figure towering above her. It’s arms waved around like living things, twisting and turned in impossible ways. The face, so human and yet inhuman at the same time, scrunched up and let out a mighty bellow. The blond felt her knees weaken and it was through pure willpower that she didn’t sink to her knees. It arched down and swept through the room, it’s pale white face with black veins etching itself on the back of her eyelids as she closed them shut against the creature. 

A moment passed and nothing happened, tentatively opening her eyes she noticed color and light had returned to the room. Spying Ruby on her knees she sprung into a sprint to reach her little sister’s side as fast as she could. Sliding on the floor she impacted the young woman and clung to her.

“Ruby! Are you okay? Are you hurt!” 

“Yang? Yang! I’m fine.” 

“What the hell was that?!” Blake drew her arms close together and shivered. 

“An illusion of our enemy. That. That was Salem.” Oscar limped over.

The older sister started checking the little one over and aside from some bruises and scratches, the brunette seemed fine. Finally assured she was alright, Yang looked at the other Goliath in the room, Raven. She was stiff as a board and her knuckles were white from gripping the object in her hand. Qrow reached the top of the steps, weapon in one hand and held forward.

“Give it up Raven. The rest of your allies have fled. If you surrender we can get treatment for your….protege.”

Being addressed seemed to snap Raven out of whatever stupor she was in, “Shut up Qrow!” She tossed the object to him, “I don’t give a shit about the relics! I need to get Vernal back to the tribe or she’ll die.” 

She seemed almost flustered as a black and red portal opened up next to her.

“Wait!” The voice, surprisingly, belonged to Jaune, “I, uh, I can heal her.”

The black haired woman’s eyes narrowed, “Explain.”

“My semblance. I can transfer my aura into other people and help them heal themselves.”

No response came from the bandit leader but her hair jostled as she nodded her head and carefully laid Vernal on the ground and Jaune walked up, holding his hands above the grizzly wound in the woman’s abdomen. Light started to suffuse the woman and the pained look on her face lessened. Even Raven seemed like she was in awe of the ability. 

Everyone gathered at the top of the stairs, Nora supported Ren and Oscar sitting with his head in his hands on the steps. Everyone was worn out, the aftermath of the fight having taken the strength from them. 

“Raven, mind explaining yourself? Now?” Qrow, exhausted as he was, wasn’t going to give up. Raven could tell and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Salem’s lackeys came to us, they found out we had the Spring Maiden.”

“So you just decided to cave in?”

“No! I did what I had to do to survive.” She whirled on her brother, “I had to do something to ensure the tribe’s survival. I told that woman what she wanted to hear. I knew she would want the maiden alone to get the relic but there was no way they would let that maiden,  _ me,  _ go.”

“No way… Ray, you’re the Spring Maiden?”

Raven spread her arms wide , “Surprise brother.”

“No.. but.. That means you…” Qrow gripped his hands tightly.

“Yes.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“How could you….”

“She came to me, Qrow, scared and helpless. She kept saying how it wasn’t like what she’d been told but so much worse. I tried. I tried to make her strong but she just wanted someone to shelter her, to release her from her responsibilities. She had an idea, a dangerous idea. I had no choice, brother.”

“What do you mean…" His eyes widened, "No. Salem?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck!” He turned and punched the railing, the wood cracking under his fist, “So what now Raven. I’m assuming Cinder’s dead?”

“I’m fairly sure of it. I froze her and dropped her down an extremely deep cavern. As for what now. The tribe needs to move. I’ll send Vernal back and have them prepare to move.”

“And you?”

“I’ll be going with you.” She said it so matter of factly that it took a few seconds to register. 

“What?” Qrow mustered dumbly.

“I said I would be going with you. They showed up at my home. They will simply do so again. Salem will not let this rest. A regrettable as it may be, survival for the tribe takes precedence, I must end the threat to us.”

“So just like that, you’re back on board?”

“Hardly, but for now our goals align.”

“That’s just like you Ray.” Qrow let out a defeated sigh and rubbed the back of his head.

“Oi, fuckface, where do you think you’re touching!” A short yelp sounded from Jaune as Vernal suddenly woke up and pushed him away.

“You’re welcome.” He grumbled as he got to his feet. Raven walked up and cuffed the younger woman around the back of the head.

“Vernal that man just healed your wounds.”

Vernal eyed Jaune up and down, “This guy did?”

“Vernal…”   
  


“Thanks I guess.” She grudgingly let out through grit teeth.

“Eh, you’re welcome?” Jaune looked incredibly uncomfortable.

* * *

  
  


Blake shakily made her way towards where her parents were coming through into the atrium, it looked like nobody was going to bother using the doors. They swept her up in a hug and she relished the warmth after what she had just seen. She was still a little shaken from Emerald’s illusion. 

“You did it honey. We did it. The police are arresting the last of the White Fang.” Ghira beamed at his daughter, his pride coming through in waves. Kali herself looked pleased as punch.

“Adam got away though.” Blake said, a small damper on the otherwise good news.

“And he’s the only one.” Illia spoke up as she walked up with Sun by her side. She looked relieved, like a weight had been taken off her shoulders and Blake supposed that was probably the case. 

“Hey.” Sun whispered, “Your team’s over there. You said anything to them?”

“I… I haven’t. Not yet.” Her ears flattened as she looked down at her feet.

“Go on then, I’ll wrap things up here.”

“But-” Before she could offer up any objections Sun wrapped his tail around her waist and spun her around sending her stumbling towards her team. She could see them standing in a group discussing things among themselves though it looked like there were two people she didn’t know among them, a young boy and a woman who looked suspiciously like her partner.

“Hey guys.” She mustered meekly as she walked up to them. They turned as one and Ruby squealed, jumping forward to hug her final teammate. To Blakes surprise it was Weiss who stepped forward next to join the hug and the two of them looked expectantly at Yang. Blakes heart was in her throat at the sight of her partner. The last she had seen the woman she was lying in a pool of blood, a vicious gash across her chest. 

Amber met lilac as Blake waited to see what her partner felt. She waited for the reprisals, the recrimination. The blame. She waited for anything. She didn’t expect Yang to step up and join the group hug.

“I’m glad you’re alright. And I’m glad you're back.” Her eyes watered and she felt something else catch in her throat. She clutched at her partner like a lifeline and hid her face in the blonde’s shoulder. After several heaving breaths she managed to bring herself back under control. Who would have thought that after going to Beacon in an attempt to run away from herself she would find people she would hold so dearly like this. 

“Blake, why are you here?” It was Ruby, their leader, who asked this question and Blake felt a hysterical laugh almost bubble out of her throat but held it in.

“I should be asking you the same question.”

Everyone looked at each other before Ruby shrugged, “It’s a long story.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not planning on going anywhere.” Unbidden the smile came to her face. 

  
  


* * *

Jaune sank into the couch with a groan and closed his eyes. Healing that Vernal woman had really drained him, though it wouldn’t have been a problem if he hadn’t been fighting on top of that. He had barely been thanked. 

Also, he had met Yang’s mom. 

That brought back some thoughts and his pulse quickened as he remembered the kiss. It was something that had been plaguing his thoughts since it happened. He still didn’t know what he should do about it. Yang liked him, and wow was that unexpected, and he had no idea what to do. Should he do anything? Could he? They had a mission, a dangerous one, and that came first, didn’t it?

It was all so confusing for him. 

Everyone moved around him, most going to bed. Qrow had perched himself in the kitchen, drinking from a large bottle. Ren was resting and Nora was by his side in one of the rooms. Neo had vanished into the house and never came back out. Who knew what that crazy girl was thinking. Team RWBY had gone off into Ruby’s cramped room so it was just Jaune.

He felt himself drifting off to sleep when someone sat besides him, he hadn’t even noticed the person approach. Jaune’s eyes opened as a weight settled against his shoulder and he got an eyeful of golden hair. Yang leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. 

“Wh- Yang? Weren’t you with your team?”

“I was.” Her voice was low. Tired. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I… things got heated.” She linked her arm around Jaune’s, “At first we were just catching up and then it came to Weiss. She explained what really happened to her when she was held by my mom. I got angry. I wanted to know why she’d never just told us that my mom planned on ending Cinder since the beginning. And then Blake stepped in to defend her. I… was angry and I said some things. Things that hurt and I regret. So I left. I needed some air.”

“Oh. I’m sorry Yang.”

“Heh. Idiot. Why are  _ you  _ sorry.”

“I, uh, I don’t know.” Yang let out a tired chuckle at his response and Jaune sat there kicking himself for not being able to say more to make her feel better. 

“You’re making me feel better already.” She said as if reading his mind. She shift around to look at him and then planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Good. I meant to do that.” Another tired chuckle and they fell into silence for a few minutes. Jaune finally puzzled together what he wanted to say, “So. You kissed me and said you ‘wanted’ me.”

He felt her go still, “Yeah.”

“As in you like me? In more than a friend kind of way?”

“Yeah.”

“So, what I want to ask is… what do we do now?” His heart was thundering so heard in his chest he really hoped she couldn’t hear it. Jaune didn’t know why he was so nervous about this, she had said she liked him.

“How do you feel about me?”

“I like you Yang.”

“What… do you want to do?”

_ Crap. Crap. Crap.  _ “Well, I’d to get to know you better?”

Yang’s low chuckles shook the both of them, “Is that a question?”

“I mean I would like to!” He hurriedly corrected himself, now he felt like an idiot.

She chuckled and it turned into a giggling laughter, echoing throughout the living room, “Well then would you like to officially be my boyfriend then?” She turned to him, fluttering her eyelashes prettily.

“I’d be honored to be your boyfriend, Miss Xiao-Long.” He replied with heavy sarcasm. They stared at each other until they both started giggling, “But, seriously, are we…?” He let the question hang in the air. 

She rolled her eyes before leaning in and placing a long, slow kiss on his lips.


	22. Two Scoops of Sunshine

“I’m sorry guys.” Ruby apologized in the hard vacuum of silence that followed her sister’s retreat from the room they had occupied for the last hour or so. The lack of noise only further pressed down on the young huntress in training. She hadn’t thought her sister would still be so angry about what had happened with Weiss though she supposed that Blake was what was really making her sensitive. 

Ruby looked at her two teammates and almost couldn’t bare the look of guilt on Blake’s face. 

“But she’s right Ruby.” Blake’s voice was low and the woman kept her amber eyes on her fingers as they fiddled with Gambol Shroud ribbon in her lap, “I ran away. If it wasn’t for coincidence I wouldn’t have even-”

“Stop.” Weiss spoke up next, her voice command and her eyes set in a stern look, “The why and how are irrelevant. You are back with your team where you belong and Yang needs to get over herself. I don’t care what her issues are, you made a mistake and we can all forgive you for that. It’s not like you weren’t trying to do the right thing.”

“Yeah Blake, Yang just needs some time to cool off. I think having Aunt Raven around is putting her on edge.”

“You think?” Weiss quipped with a raised brow, “I thought she was going to start a brawl right there in Haven with the woman. And don’t get me started on how agitated she’s been since Raven left to make her arrangements for the tribe.”

“Well…” Ruby played with her fingers, eyes cast down, “I know she still loves you guys.”

Weiss' expression softened, “I know Ruby.”

“How’s your arm Ruby?” Blake sought to change the subject. It was immediately successful as the brunette perked up and pulled back her sleeve to expose the metallic limb. It gleamed red and black in the artificial light of the room. Ruby flexed the hand’s digits one at a time starting with her pinky finger and working her way to her thumb before clenching them all into a fist. 

“Wow, that’s honestly pretty impressive. We had a few veterans from the war in the White Fang, a couple had prosthetics but this makes those look like hooks for hands.” Amber eyes roved all over the device. Ruby felt a little awkward at having both her teammates staring at her arm and this warred with her desire to geek out about the technological marvel attached to her. 

“Of course it’s impressive. It’s the cutting edge in Atlas technology. From what Ruby told me about it, her arm is completely unique.”

“Heh, Yup. It’s made with the same stuff as Penny was, by her father, so it’s capable of transmitting Aura.”

Blake looked a little confused, “I thought Aura covered prosthetic limbs just like our weapons.”

“It can,” Ruby replied, her grin growing, “But my arm is covered in aura like it was never gone. Other people have to project their aura over their limb.”

“That’s…. You realize how crazy that seems, right, Ruby?”

“Why would it be crazy?” The girl in question just blinked owlishly at her raven haired teammate. It was their ex-heiress that spoke up first as Blake seemed to be lost for words.

“Because, you dolt, if you had listened to the lectures involving Aura, instead of doodling or whatever it was you did, you’d know that Aura can only cover inanimate objects when someone  _ with  _ Aura projects theirs over it. An object having its own Aura would mean it was a soul, which is impossible.”

“Penny had a soul. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks, “No. I have not.”

With a sigh Ruby detached her arm and held it out for them to take. The white haired girl took it and turned it over, inspecting in. She felt the tentative push of a residual Aura in the object before passing it to Blake who discovered the same thing, “It was Aura. I could feel it.” Weiss stared at her empty hands before glancing back at the red and black arm.

“Yup! That’s my aura. It kinda…” Ruby made a strange pushing motion with her remaining arm, “fills it up.”

Both of the other girls looked at her and then back down at the artificial limb, it was Blake again who found her voice, “Things like this could help a lot of people.”

Weiss preened a little, “Well Atlas is the foremost researcher on technological advancements.”

“Not that they share them.” The white haired girl's cheeks darkened as she looked away from the deadpan stare of her faunus teammate.

“Uh… so Blake! You didn’t tell me you were a princess!” 

“I’m not.” Blake answered and Ruby earned a silent ‘ _ thank you _ ’ from her partner, “My father is the former and now new leader of the White Fang as well as the governor of Menagerie.”

“That sounds complicated.” Weiss chipped in with a note of sympathy.

Blake sighed, “It really is. But it’s honestly great to know that the White Fang are once more on the path to peace.”

“Will it be that easy?” Blake’s eyes narrowed at Weiss as she spoke up but the ex-heiress held up a hand, “I just mean they have a reputation now. Terrible things have happened in their name and the world won’t readily believe them. It’s going to be difficult.”

“Nothing worth having is rarely easy, Weiss. We know that. My people are prepared to do what’s right now.”

“That’s good, Blake. I…. You have my support.” The cat faunus’ eyes widened considerably.

“Me too!” Ruby shouted and performed a one-handed tackle of her teammate.

“Thanks, you guys, that means a lot to me.” Blake said with a relieved sigh as she struggled to get out from under the tiny huntress in training.

With an amused smile Weiss stood up, “It’s late. I’m going to tell Yang it’s okay to come back in here, it  _ is  _ her room after all.” She turned around and left the room, ignoring the pleading amber eyes that begged for her to remove her partner from nearly suffocating her teammate. 

Ruby looked at the faunus in her arms, “Seriously though Blake, I think that deep down Yang is really happy to have you back.”

“I-”

The door opened once again as Weiss walked in once more and shut the door quietly behind her. Her pale cheeks were slightly darkened as she looked at Ruby and Blake who looked at each other and then back at the girl. 

“Ruby.” The ex-heiress said calmly, “How long have they been a thing?”

“Uhhh they?”

“Yang and Jaune!”

Ruby gasped, “They’re a thing?!”

Weiss slapped her palm to her face, “Well why else would they be sleeping in each other's arms!”

Another gasp, “They’re sleeping together?!” Both girls decided to ignore the choking sound coming from the faunus in the room.

“Not like that, you dolt. They’re…. Just come see for yourself.” She strode forward and grabbed the younger girl by the arm and pulled her back out to the living room. 

She felt a pang when her silver eyes were laid on the pair sleeping on the couch. Yang had both of her arms wrapped around one of Jaune’s and her head eyes resting on his shoulder. His cheek was gently resting on the top of her head. 

An unfamiliar feeling welled up again inside her chest, a tight pain. Ruthlessly she squashed the feeling down and focused on how she was going to relentlessly tease her sister about this. How dare she not tell her about this development?

But instead of waking up her sister she retrieved a blanket from their room and placed it over them. 

Yang didn’t need to know how much of a terrible sister she was.

  
  


* * *

Yeng felt something shift and a cold breeze on her skin. Grumbling she attempted to right this glaring wrong by reaching out to drag the covers back over her. Her first problem was that her hands were latched onto something warm and soft. With a slow turn of her head she saw a shock of blonde hair just a shade darker than her own staring her in the face. 

Her heart almost stopped beating in her chest and tried to leap to it’s death out of her throat. It was something the blonde was unfamiliar with. Sure, she’d had boyfriends before, but this was a different feeling. This felt like something deeper. Yang nuzzled against her companion once again and relished the feeling of security she got from being with Jaune. 

She’d also never slept with a boy before and wasn’t that something that brought up quite a few suggestions. Some of those thoughts brought color to her cheeks and she unconsciously tightened her grip on his arm. 

Jaune must have felt her stirring as he started waking up too. She felt him go still as his breathing stopped and he tentatively opened one eye and met her lilac orbs which were a scant few inches away from his. 

Deciding to share the misery of her embarrassment she put on a shit eating grin, “Hey there lover boy.”

Oh she was sure that there was something wrong with her as she took pleasure in seeing his mouth open and close several times as he fought to say something. Let it not be said that Yang Xiao-Long didn’t leave her man speechless. And there was something else as well, her man. She had a man, a boyfriend and her stomach fluttered at that thought. 

“Morning Yang.” Jaune stammered. 

Placing a small peck on his cheek Yang replied, “Morning to you too.”

“So, uh, last night happened.”

“Yup.” 

Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked the time, blinking at the early hour indicated on it, “Ugh. So early.”

“I know. Wanna get some grub?”

“Eh, sure.” He made to get up but paused when she felt her hands clamp down on his arm, he raised an eyebrow at her, “Uh, Yang, I can’t get up if you don’t let me go.”

Yang stuck her tongue out at him, “I’m never gonna let you go.” His cheeks immediately went red as he looked away, using his free hand to scratch the back of his head.

“You don’t gotta worry about me going anywhere.” His reply was low but she caught it and it did wonderous things to her heart. With that, she let go and stood up, stretching out towards the ceiling. Yang winked when she caught him staring at her form and could admit to stretching in a way that maybe accentuated what she considered her greatest assets. It felt great, to her, being desired by someone she liked. 

In all honesty she felt great, she hadn’t slept that well in forever and he just made her feel so safe. Like she could share her vulnerabilities with him and it would be okay. That was probably what she liked the most about him. He was safe, loyal, and cared about his family. If she had a list of desirable traits those would be at the top.

Yang bit her lip as he stretched out alongside her and she admired his surprisingly broad shoulders. Physique wasn’t really all that important to her, Huntsman and Huntresses tended to have great bodies. It came with the job. So, in fact, Jaune was toned though it mostly didn’t show due to his choice in clothing. 

The refrigerator held no answers to their hunger as there wasn’t much left in it. Just a carton of eggs, some milk, and a loaf of bread. That and some of Uncle Qrow’s beer. With a sigh Yang brought out the eggs and they set to preparing breakfast together. Figuring everyone else would be up soon they cracked all of the eggs into a pan and started cooking them up. 

Her blood froze as a sound she was quickly becoming familiar with sounded out behind her. Turning around spotted a red and black portal hovering in the middle of the kitchen, a small distance from her. Her iced blood shifted to boiling in an instant and she felt a hand from behind rest on her shoulder, his comforting presence calming her somewhat as her mother, her biological mother, stepped out into their house.

“Hello Yang.” The woman spoke simply, as if she didn’t just transport herself into their home, “I need to see my brother.”

“Then why not just go to him directly?” Her eyes were on the verge of turning scarlet.

“Because portaling into the room of a Huntsman is a bad idea. That and what happened last time. He tends to sleep…. In the buff.”

And now Yang had an image in her head that she didn’t want. Pinching the bridge of her nose she waved in his general direction, “Knock yourself out.” Too bad she wouldn’t do that literally.

With a nod Raven disappeared towards Qrow’s room and Yang went back to making their meal but now the mood was ruined. A black ugly feeling was sitting in her stomach knowing that the mother who abandoned her years ago was just a few rooms away. She hated this. What she wanted was to confront her. To shout and ask questions and to finally get some answers to what happened. 

A pair of hands rested her shoulder. Those hands traveled down her arms and linked across her front as Jaune settled his chin in the crook of her neck. His embrace was warm, a bright light that chased away the dark ugly feeling and she was once again reminded of what it was she liked about him.

She mumbled her thanks to him.

“My Dad does this when Mom has a bad day. It always works. I’m glad to see the Arc charm is still working.”

She broke out in a laugh that cleared away all the negativity she had been feeling, “You’re such a dork Jaune. Don’t give credit for a smooth move like this to your dad.”

“What, and ruin my reputation and an awkward teenager? Never.”

She could no longer contain herself and she laughed out loud once more, a single snort working it’s way out that had her freeze and him descending into laughter as well.

“Ugh. Blondes.” Weiss looked downright murderous in her sleepwear, leveling a glare of legendary proportions at the pair in the kitchen.

“Hey there Ice-Queen.”

“Not until I’ve had my coffee Xiao-Long.”

“Aw, someone needs to  _ chill  _ out.”

Weiss scoffed as she went over to the coffee pot and started the machine up. A loud thump sounded from Qrow’s rooms and the three of them just stared at the wall until they went back to what they were doing like nothing had happened.

Ruby drifted out of her room a few minutes later, “Mmmm food.” The girl promptly sat down at the table, her head hitting the surface as she went back to sleep. Blake was the most normal when waking up when she came out fully clothed and awake. Scrounging around she found some tea, Ren’s, and started boiling water while joining Ruby at the table. 

“So. You and Jaune huh?”

All activity in the kitchen stopped at Blake’s words, even Ruby sat bolt upright.

“W-well yeah. I suppose you noticed.” Yang felt heat creep into her cheeks as she thought of how she had slept. 

“Congratulations then.” 

“I’ve no idea what you see in him but if it makes you happy then i’ve no objections however,” The ex-heiress spun and pointed her finger at Jaune. “If you hurt her you will answer to me.”

It was all Jaune could do to nod at her ,”Awwww Weiss you do care!” Yang wrapped her up in a tight hug that had her sputtering denials like a hellcat as she fought to be released. 

Raven came back out of Qrow’s room with the man in question in tow. He popped in and grabbed a beer from the fridge and passed one to his twin. 

Yang stared at the woman who stood there as if there was nothing wrong. She couldn’t help it when she stalked up to the woman who idly eyed her. The blonde had to resist the urge to wipe that neutral look from her face. Her daughter was right in front of her and yet she had said almost nothing to her. That was unacceptable.

“You and I need to talk.” Yang made it clear how many choices the woman had.


	23. Duality

“Well?”

Raven turned around once the door closed behind the two of them, her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded her daughter. Yang mimicked the black haired woman’s posture as they stared each other down. 

“You wanted to talk, so talk.” 

Yang scoffed at her mother, “Yeah, I’ve got some questions for you.” Raven simply waved a hand for her to continue, “I guess I should start out with the behemoth in the room. Why? Why did you abandon me?”

There it was. She’d waited so many years to ask this woman that question and now it was out in the air. Raven’s eyebrow quirked up, as if to ask if that was really all she wanted to ask and Yang felt anger well up inside her chest but she stamped down on it as much as she could, this was too important to start a fight over. No matter what, she needed this.

“That’s your first question? I take it Tai doesn’t talk about me much, then?”

“I mean I wouldn’t wanna talk about the woman who ripped my heart out either.”

A quick glare from her mother, “Well there was a reason. Mainly, the Tribe. There were others but those are his secrets.”

“The tribe? That was the reason you abandoned your daughter?” Yang was incredulous.

“My Father died. Chieftain of our tribe and the one who sent us to Beacon in the first place. I… was chosen as the next leader, and the tribe did not… approve of my relationship. I was asked to make a choice. My Tribe or my family.”

Yang slowly closed her eyes. Seeing as where Raven was standing she knew what the woman had chosen, “And so you chose your tribe over your family.”

“My tribe  _ is  _ my family.”

“And What am I!? Do I really mean so little to you? Was it really that easy of a choice?!” Yang exploded, no longer able to contain herself.

“OF course not!” Raven snapped back, “Don’t be so foolish as to think it was easy, my life has been anything but.”

“And yet you still chose them over me and Dad.”

“You didn’t need me. You had Tai and you were my child, you would be strong no matter what but the tribe needed me.”

“Of course I still needed you!” Yang’s chest was heaving as she stared at her own mother. 

“And yet look at you. You’ve grown up strong.” The approval disgusted the blonde. 

“Tch.” Yang turned around, unsure how much longer she could truly control herself if she had to look the woman in the eyes any more. She felt tears threatening to break through her ironclad defense. No she couldn’t cry now, later sure. But not now. 

“Honestly Yang,” The woman continued, unheeding of her daughter’s emotional turmoil, or perhaps uncaring, “What other answer did you truly expect? Perhaps some tragic story where I had no choice but to leave for the safety of the family I still love? I didn’t think you’d be so naive.”

“You’d think. I guess you don’t know me as much as you think you do.” Yang snarled.

“Do you have any more questions or was it just the one?” 

“One more. Why did you help us like that? Why do you care?”

“That?” Raven sighed, “ Cinder found the tribe, threatened it. I don’t like threats. So I came up with a plan. Only I could kill the woman, yet she was constantly surrounded by her lackeys. I needed a situation in which I could face her on even footing. Well, she was planning to kill your sister so I used that. I played along all the while ensuring we would be left alone by making a deal with the Schnee girl.” The woman smirked, “Now she’s dead and you have your relic, safe and sound.”

“And again for the tribe, huh?” 

“Always. Are we done here?”

“Why? Anxious to leave?” The blonde whirled around, eyes crimson. The woman was standing there, meeting her crimson orbs with her bright red, hues almost matching. Raven was still in the pose she had adopted upon entering the room, an almost bored look on her face as she was confronted with her raging daughter.

“I still have some loose ends to tie up with the tribe before I leave it.”

“Whatever. I’ve got what I needed.” 

Raven drew her blade and created a portal in mid air. Casting one more glance back as she left a different emotion played across her face as she stepped through, one Yang could not identify because of how quickly it was gone. 

As the red and black swirl vanished into thin air Yang sat down shakily on the bed in the room, it was the only spare room left. She clasped her trembling hands together and leaned her chin on them, taking deep breaths. The rage was there, hot in her chest, but there was something else, like an ice cube, that sat there heavy in her stomach. It was the despairing certainty.

The blonde had always suspected her mother’s motives. With the way her father had acted whenever the subject came up, it was easy to guess what had generally happened. But hearing the words had brought it all crashing in. A finality she probably wasn’t ready for but would have come sooner or later. 

She felt something wet slide down her cheek and wiped it away but the flood gates had been open and more tears started streaming down her face. Giving up on wiping them away she just threw herself into the pillow to stifle herself. Her throat clenched and she let out a cry into the soft confines of the cushion. 

Yang had always known, in her head, about Raven. The woman had abandoned her, that was obvious. But her heart had never given up, not until now, and it let out all the emotion she had pent up for all these years into the frustrated tears flowing from her eyes. 

* * *

The first thing that Raven saw when she stepped through her portal was Vernal’s face. The girl looked up at her chieftain with expectation and admiration. The black haired woman adored the girl but she would never admit it. Her protege was capable and strong, it made her proud that the tribe had flourished as it had under her leadership. With a nod she stepped past Vernal into her tent, leaving a message that she was not to be disturbed with the young woman. 

Taking a deep breath she took in the familiar surroundings of her tent but when she closed her eyes she could only see the tortured visage of her daughter. When she had left she knew her daughter would hate her, had expected it. But seeing it first hand directed at her was gut wrenching. Unconsciously her hands curled into fists.

Of course she had always watched the girl, how could she not? This was her own daughter and even if Summer had made a better mother than she could ever be it still hurt to see her daughter happily being raised by another woman. They had never seen her, on the branches of Patch, but she had seen them. 

Then Summer had died. An old ache in her chest throbbed as she remembered her old teammate. There were so many things she had kept from them. From Tai, Qrow, and Summer. Things she could no longer tell them because long kept secrets were better off buried. She knew she had hurt the man she loved and that had torn at her just as much as leaving her daughter behind had. 

Now everything was coming back., Qrow, Ozpin, and Yang. The fight she had tried to leave was catching up to her and leaving her family in danger, both her tribe  _ and  _ her daughter. 

Everything would be fine, however, she would not let Salem win. That monster would not have her child.

Even if said child hated her. 

That was okay, even as the tears welled up behind her eyes, she knew this would happen. Had told herself time and time again that this would happen. Yang would be strong and eventually their paths would cross.

But she hadn’t expected it to be so hard and it would only get more difficult the more time she spent around her beautiful daughter. She had been so secretly proud when she’d heard her daughter talking of how she would protect her sister. Watching the two of them interact was almost like seeing her old team again. Ruby was just like Summer and their sisterly relationship was something she almost envied. 

The tears broke through and started falling onto the ground and she stood there, silently weeping. Raven sank to her knees, unable to move as something stuck in her throat. 

If ever there was a time when Raven Branwen regretted her decisions, it was right then. It was all she could do to keep telling herself that it was for the sake of her daughter and the man she still loved.

* * *

Ruby thought her sister looked like she had been crying when she finally exited the room she and Raven had occupied. It had been a tense time for everyone though Jaune continued to cook breakfast for everyone. They’d all paused when they heard the muffled shouting though no one had been able to make it out, except for maybe Blake. 

The young reaper jumped up and threw her arms around her sister in a tight hug. The blonde let out a forceful chuckle and rubbed her hand on Ruby’s head, ruffling her hair. Even despite her sister insisting she was fine the younger girl knew she wasn’t and the slight tightening of her arms around Ruby confirmed it. A silent, sisterly, communication went back and forth between them as she looked into her sister’s lilac eyes and she knew everything was going to be fine. 

The brunette relaxed visibly when Yang gratefully accepted a plate of breakfast from Jaune. Judging from his expression, Ruby wasn’t the only one who knew she wasn’t okay and the food an attempt at comfort. 

“Good morning.” Oscar yawned as he entered the dining room and sleepily took a plate for himself loaded with eggs and bacon. The boy still walked with a pronounced limp. It had been his first battle since Ozpin had inhabited his body and the boy had done well. Ruby was actually really surprised at how fast Oscar was picking up the skills he needed to survive. 

There was some conversation over breakfast but mainly everyone ate in silence. Yang got questioned by Weiss about her budding relationship. Nora was pretty upset that she was among the last to find out and decried that her boy was all grown up. Ren looked quite pleased at the development though. 

“Uh.. hey everyone? Um Ozpin has something he wants to say.” Oscar shrugged and then his eyes flashed, his posture slackened for a moment and when he straightened up his entire presence had changed. 

“Good morning everyone. As Oscar said to you I would like to discuss our plans from now on.” 

Everyone stopped to listen to him, and it wasn’t because it was Ozpin speaking. Everyone wanted to know what the next step would be. 

“As Qrow may or may not have informed you all, our next destinations would be Atlas. As it stands, the kingdom of Atlas is not only the most secure but has allies I  _ know  _ are still on our side. James is not only an old friend but perhaps also just as dedicated as I to ending Salem’s threat. Also, with no headmaster, Haven Academy is no longer a safe place to hide the Relic of Knowledge. Normally I would have asked Raven to reseal it but perhaps it is for the best to keep it on hand, where I can guard it.”

“So, what does this relic do?” Ruby held her hand up when she asked the question, it wasn’t her fault that he acted like a teacher.

“A good question, Miss Rose.” Ozpin presented the lamp for everyone to see and as it grew in size he placed it on the table where it floated just barely off the surface, “The Relic of Knowledge grants just that, knowledge. Though it does have it’s conditions. It will answer any question as long as it’s about anything current or past. It cannot tell you the future.”

Everyone's eyes lit up as he explained that, Ren’s in particular focused on the lamp. Nora got super excited until her partner explained that no, they weren’t wishes. She sat back down with a harrumph. 

“Also,” Ozpin added with a chuckle, “The lamp will only answer 3 questions every one hundred years and I’m afraid the questions were all used up when it was sealed away last. I’m afraid asking it anything is impossible.”

“Tch, answers would be pretty handy right now, “ Yang piped up, “We could totally ask what Salem is planning or something.”

“Yes that would be useful.” A wistful expression danced across his face, “But regardless we must get to Atlas.”

“I  _ just  _ escaped there and now I have to go back? I want it on record that I’m going under duress.” The ex-heiress whined. 

“Aw c’mon Ice Queen. You can show us around your icy domain. Even show us your Ice Castle where your cold heart is stored.” Yang smirked at Weiss and only received a roll of the eyes.

“Well the plan is to head to Atlas through the town of Argus. There we can probably secure passage by contacting Jimmy. Either that or mini-Ice Queen over here can help us.” Qrow smirked like his niece at the voiced complaints of said ex-heiress. 

“As such we will leave in two weeks. I’d like you all to get some last minute training in before we begin our journey. Jaune I’m glad to see you’ve unlocked your semblance but I would like to explore what you can do with it. The rest of you, well, you saw what we are up against for yourself. We need to be as prepared as we can be for when Salem’s people cross our paths again.”

His posture went slack again as he reverted back to Oscar, it seemed he was still feeling the effects of his fight at Haven. Ruby felt a tinge of concern for the young man who was housing what seemed to be two souls. Picking up her plate and bringing it to the sink she spared a glance for her sister who’s smile still seemed fragile but looked to be doing a lot better than earlier. It helped having something to discuss like what they were going to do next.

That was good. It was rare to see her sister in a vulnerable state, she could count them on one hand and half of them had happened in the last year. 

Ruby caught it out of the corner of her eye. It was small, something that shouldn’t have even mattered. She saw Yang's fingers intertwine with Jaune’s under the table and he gave her a brief squeeze. Her smile seemed to get just a bit stronger. 

It only reinforced Ruby’s decision to give him up. Her sister deserved someone who could make her happy like that, support her when she was feeling weak. Yang had pretty much raised her when her mother had passed away and her father had retreated into himself. Ruby owed so much to her sister she could easily make this kind of sacrifice. 

Or at least it should have been. 

_ Why won’t this feeling just go away? _


	24. In the Twilight Gap

Ruby found the woman lounging out on the terrace, sunglasses on and parasol open next to her chair. The young reaper was nervous in approaching the dangerous woman but gulped and gathered her courage. She’d been rather absent in the days after the Battle of Haven but had been instrumental in the defeat of Cinder. 

Poking her fingertips together Ruby took a deep breath and her words gushed out, “So I don’t think we ever thanked you.”

The sunglasses were lowered to the tip of her nose so that mismatched brown and pink eyes could focus on the young girl talking to her, one eyebrow went up.

“For helping us against Cinder, I mean. I know you did it because of what happened to Torchwick but, well, I still want to thank you. Without you who knows what would have happened.” Ruby did her best to put on a winning smile but was rewarded by a dismissing wave of a hand and Neo’s attention returning to nothing as the sunglasses went back up. 

However that wouldn’t discourage the huntress-in-training from talking to the mute, “But besides that it made me realise that you’re strong. Really strong.” The woman didn’t move but Ruby could feel those heterochromatic eyes focus on her again, “I want you to train me.” 

There, it was out in the air now and the reaper could feel the stillness in the air and the utter lack of reaction in the woman before her. After a minute passed by Ruby started to get antsy, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She’d realized how weak she was when she had fought with Cinder. She’d barely been able to land a hit in and yet the woman had barely used any of her powers. What would happen when they met again? Or if she had to fight people just as strong. 

Ruby couldn’t let herself be satisfied with where she was, she needed to get better, stronger. She was interrupted from her thought when a pink parasol was pushed into her vision. Neopolitan was standing and had her weapon at the ready. A smirk from the woman showed her agreement and a certain confidence surged through the younger girl. Her hand fell instinctually to Crescent Rose but she bit her lip and drew forth Rose Thorn instead. 

As the segment blade unfolded Ruby took position in the center of the terrace and Neo casually strolled to a position opposite. The multi-colored woman stood with her umbrella in one hand while the other came up to beckon the reaper. 

The brunette lowered her stance, knees bent and both hands atop the hilt of her sword which she held in a drawing position. She took a single deep breath to focus herself. Silver eyes became sharp and rose petals began appearing on a non-existent wind as the two stared one another down. 

The stillness exploded into action as Ruby jumped forward, Rose Thorn flicking out towards Neo’s face. The woman dodged within a hair's breadth and the reaper felt an impact in her stomach as a heel was planted in it, forcing her back a few feet. Ruby came in again from a low angle with a horizontal slash that she bent over backwards to dodge, the tip of her boot slamming into the brunette’s chin. 

Shaking the stars from her eyes she pressed on, Rose Thorn weaving a silvery web that was dodged with near effortlessness. An umbrella hand caught her wrist and pulled Ruby off balance while a booted foot swept her legs from under her. The brunette felt a foot descend on her back, pinning her to the ground, as the handle of the woman’s weapon hooked around her throat. She felt her face tilted upwards to meet mismatched eyes. 

Ruby wouldn’t be put off that easily. She had asked for it and through grit teeth she forced out words, silver eyes never swaying from pink and brown.

“Again.”

Neo’s smile took on a vicious edge. 

* * *

  
  


Jaune was nervous when Qrow dragged him out to a local tavern. The blond stared warily at the huntsman across the table from him as a busty tavern girl set down two pints in front of them. The dark haired man winked at her which elicited a giggle as she swayed away, Jaune caught the man staring after her. 

“What?” Qrow asked when Jaune coughed pointedly at him, “I’m not the one with a girlfriend.”

“She’s easily twenty.”

“Still legal.” Qrow returned with a grin, much to Jaune’s disgust. Gingerly he took the beer in front of him and took a sip, wrinkling his nose at the bitter taste. The bastard seemed to find it amusing if his shit eating grin were anything to go by. At least it was easy to tell he was related to Yang. 

“So, why bring me here?” 

Instead of answering Qrow took a long draught from his mug before expelling a satisfied breath. Setting the pint back down he considered the young man before him, “You’re dating my niece.” He finally answered, “Though I’d come and get to know ya better.”

“And so you brought me to a tavern?”

“Heh, best way to get to know someone is to go a few rounds with ‘em.” 

“You aren’t going to try and fight me are you?” There was a gleam in Qrow’s eye, “Right?” Jaune’s voice had just a hint of desperation in it and only relaxed when the huntsman could no longer keep a straight face and burst out into laughter.

“Oh man, the look on your face.” He stopped laughing after a minute, “Don’t worry, I’m not interested in beating up a snot nosed brat like you.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Y’know when you're not busy being a wet noodle you’ve got a pretty good sense of humor.” Qrow continued after the blond arched his eyebrow, “Heard about you from Yang, back during Beacon. She wasn’t impressed, said you didn’t have a spine, or confidence. Whatever you wanna call it. Looks like something changed.”

“Something. Maybe.” Jaune looked into the amber depths of his drink but sighed when no answers came forth, “Kinda had to. I can’t afford to be weak. Not anymore.”

Qrow’s face hardened, no doubt sensing where the conversation headed, “This about that partner of yours?” Jaune nodded, “I know all about bein’ weak, kid.”

The blond looked at him in surprise or perhaps disbelief, “You?”

“I wasn’t always the badass I am today. ‘Sides, I know what it’s like to lose your partner. Someone you care deeply about.” There was a sadness in his voice and Jaune could almost swear he’d heard it crack before Qrow drained the rest of his pint, holding up a hand to signal the server for another. As he looked at the man, the blond figured he knew who he was talking about.

“Ruby’s mom?” 

“Summer.” Qrow answered, “She was a fantastic leader. Ruby’s just like her too. And that’s the problem.”

“Yang told me.” This got a surprised look out of the older man, “Told me how she thought Ruby might end up the same if she wasn’t there looking out for her.”

Qrow let out a long sigh, “That’s how those girls are. They’re wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but they’re messed up too.”

“What do you mean?” Jaune felt himself getting defensive and Qrow noticed as well, putting his hands up.

“What I mean is that Ruby’s just like Summer and we all know how that story ended. No need to tell you how concerned I am for the runt. But Yang? That’s a whole other bag of slightly twisted. See, after Summer died ol’ Tai broke down. First wife gone and second dead? Yeah, no. The guy shattered, only managed to pick up the pieces an’ put ‘em back together somewhat recently. Firecracker had ta take care of Ruby, became the mother. But see that’s not all. Yang will do _anything_ for her family.”

“Well, yeah. She really cares about her family. I care about mine too.”

“Nah, you’re not getting it. I mean _anything._ She’d sacrifice her own happiness in a heartbeat if it meant Ruby would have her own. She doesn’t think about herself at all, only Ruby. Ain’t no one on Remnant who isn’t selfish to some extent. And Yang does a pretty good job with it, that is until you involve family. Get what I mean?”

“I think so.” Jaune mulled over Qrow’s words some, “But why tell me all this?” 

“Because something changed, kid. My niece decided to do something for her own happiness, something that’s pretty big.” Qrow pointed at the blond in front of him and Jaune sucked in a breath. He hadn’t thought of it but thinking back he could tell.

In Beacon Yang had almost shadowed her sister. Maybe she had teased her constantly but she had always been close by. Looking back with what he knew now made it fairly obvious. She’d even almost as much as said it herself. She’d started on her path to become a huntress just for Ruby. That was…. Jaune couldn’t even think of what it was. 

Qrow must have noticed his confusion, “It’s you kid. All of a sudden she’s fallen for you. It’s pretty incredible actually. See even in Signal those boys she was with, it was obvious they were superficial. Something she did because she thought she had to or something, whether or not she knew it or not. You? Heh, well i guess you can see why I wanted to get to know ya better now.”

“But I haven’t _done_ anything. We’ve talked and stuff but I don’t really think I helped all that much, just kind of gave her my opinion.”

The huntsman grinned again, “Well whatever it is, keep it up. Lil’ firecracker needs to live for herself a little.” Qrow raised his mug and Jaune reluctantly did the same when the black haired man stared at him pointedly, “That reminds me.” His face getting serious as he leaned in close over the table they were sat at. 

Jaune couldn’t help but swallow air as he did the same. _Is this what he really wanted to talk about?_

“How far have you guys gone?”

Jaune's head made a loud thudding sound as it hit the table. 

* * *

  
  


Yang circled the mat, eyeing her opponent carefully. She had to be very careful about him, every movement screamed martial artist. From the fluid and graceful movements to the calculated guard that left no openings. Pink focused on lilac as they slowly circled each other. The blonde put her knuckles to her cheeks and elbows kept tucked in as her guard came up. She bounced on the balls of her feet and then flew into action, not being one to sit back. 

Her opponent, Ren, dodged to the side and threw out a quick, precise strike towards her side. With a grimace Yang took the strike and pushed through, her right fist rocketing towards his face. The young man deflected her punch but the grimace showed that it still grazed him. The brawler felt her smile come through as she started a flurry of punches and kicks that drove him back. 

Ren was slippery, however, and never took a full blow from her while countering and delivering damage of his own with his palm strikes. Yang could feel herself getting into the fight as lilac shifted to scarlet and a feral grin plastered itself over her face. It was rare to find someone who could pushed her in unarmed combat.

_Why have we never sparred before?_ She thought to herself as Ren bent into an incredible dodge that brought his foot into contact with her ribs. Automatically her arm clamped down on the limb and pinned it to her side. She caught his eyes widening as she drove her fist into the side of his knee. Jumping up he drove his other foot into her chest, knocking her back and allowing his other foot to slip free as he flipped backwards. The damage was done, however, as he gingerly put some weight on the leg. 

Her raised his eyebrow at her and her grin only widened before he shook his head. Ducking low, Ren rushed in. He was fast, but she’d been sparring with Ruby since she’d gotten her semblance. Casually she raised her knee to the space his face would enter as he ran but she had miscalculated. Ren wasn’t rushing in as fast as Ruby did. This gave him plenty of time to use his palms to vault off of her knee, his own coming up to strike her in the head. 

Her vision exploded as she hit the mat and it took a few seconds for her vision to clear and when it did she saw a hand hovering within reach. Grasping it she got back on her feet with Ren’s help. Yang let out a contented sigh as her rear end contacted the bench. Grabbing the bottle out from under it she enjoyed the sweet orange taste of the electrolyte drink. They had sparred in short bouts for the last hour and it showed in the way their skin glistened with sweat. 

“Is she still jogging?” Yang asked as she began dabbing sweat off her body with the towel she had brought to the local hunter gym. The facilities were excellent for the price they had paid, an expansive set of sparring areas with a second floor that held a track around the inner perimeter of the building. A lone red headed person could be seen jogging across said track with pink sweatbands and her outfit doused with sweat.

“Yes.” was Ren’s enigmatic answer.

“How?! She started an hour ago!”

“It’s Nora.” he said like it explained everything. With a sigh Yang conceded his point, it did explain everything. 

“By the way what made you wanna spar like this?” Their eyes met briefly as she looked at him seated next to her, gulping down his own drink. 

“That man, Hazel, was so strong. I realized how much further I have to go to reach my goal.” 

“Your goal?” Yang didn’t know why he was surprised, everyone chose to be a huntress or huntsman for reasons of their own. 

A small wistful smile spread across his face, “Did you know that I was born in a village near Mistral called Kuroyuri? We passed very close to it on our journey.”

“I had no idea. Why didn’t you say anything? We could have visited it.”

“Kuroyuri was destroyed a long time ago. I met Nora that night.” He seemed lost in thought for a moment, “You didn’t see it but there was a large Grimm among those that attacked Kutsuri. It was called a Nuckalavee and it was that Grimm that attacked my village. I cowered in a dry canal as I watched it stalk the village and murder innocents.” His hands gripped tight on the bottle of his drink, “It was the same Grimm that murdered my father.”

Yang's hand was brought up to her mouth as it hung agape, her eyes wide.

“That’s when I met Nora, hiding underneath a house. I remembered my father’s words ‘Be Brave’. But I was scared, terrified. I was only eight, what was I supposed to do? I unlocked my semblance and my fear just… washed away. And I was able to finally act. I guess I became a huntsman in order to slay that Grimm but now that I have I feel as though that wasn’t right. I don’t feel better about the whole thing but now that it’s dead I feel more at peace and I realized something.”

Ren looked her in the eyes, “I wanted to become a huntsman so that maybe, through my efforts, someone would not have to go through what I did. I wanted to spare them that pain, even if it’s just one person, it would be worth it.”

With a cry they were ambushed by a Nora who had been waiting in the shadows to make her move, “Ren saved me that day. If he’s gonna be a huntsman then I’ll be a huntress.” She declared while striking a heroic pose. Ren chuckled at her antics but Yang could see in his eyes the boundless gratitude he had for his childhood friend. He noticed her looking and gave her a small smile back.

“I may have saved Nora but she’s saved me countless times more.”


	25. The Pride before the Fall

The pain was something she was used to as she lay there, staring up at the only light in the dark expanse around her. Gold eyes burned silently in the dark as she put her hand to her stomach, wincing slightly as the hunger pangs continued for a while. Eventually they would go away but the pain was getting worse. How long she’d been trapped down here she didn’t know, time had ceased to have any meaning to her. She didn’t even know if it was night or day outside.

In the dark she had to subsist off of the filthy water she had fallen into though she thanked her mistress that she’d landed in the surprisingly deep well of water without hitting the jagged rocks surrounding it. With nothing to do but wait she had fantasized her revenge on that mute. She’d been so close, the power of another maiden within her grasp only to have her plans turned on her. Neopolitan would die, that was for sure, and it would not be swift. 

Finally she felt something stir within her and for once it was not hunger but something else. Raising her one remaining hand before her face she concentrated briefly, feeling the tug of power which had slipped her grasp for so long in the depths of the ravine in which she found herself. A spark sputtered into a steady flame that started small and eventually grew into a fist sized ball of fire that illuminated her surroundings. 

Cinder Fall let out a smile, the first in a long while, as she looked up once again at the glow from the vault high above her head. The walls were uneven and had places for handholds, she could climb out if she needed to, though getting up the shaft to Haven would be much more difficult. Something brushed against her ankle and she looked down sharply to find nothing on the ground. The feeling came back but there was nothing there still so she cast about to find the source, it had to be a draft.

Strengthening the flame she carefully spent the next few dozen minutes inspecting the walls of her prison. The steady flame flickered in the small movement of air and she narrowed down onto the crack in the wall. 

This was it. Her way out. 

Examining the aperture found that it only went forward a few feet before opening to the outside world. That was enough for her and she gathered the dregs of her power into the palms of her hand. The maiden’s power responded to her emotions, her determination. She wasn’t going to be beaten here, she wasn’t going to die. She would live, survive, and claim what was rightfully hers.

The power exploded out in a tremendous release of energy that blew away everything in front of her. Cinder panted and felt her strength leave her, one knee impacting the hard ground as she steadied herself with her hand. She’d only just regained her strength and had spent it. Through sheer determination she struggled to her trembling feet and staggered out the opening and into the cool night air. With only the light of the fractured moon to guide her way Cinder made out into the treeline, her eyes set on the dim path before that she knew must lead somewhere.

First she would gather her strength.

Then she would take what was rightfully hers. A pain lanced up her left arm, or what was left of it and she gazed down and the blackened stump, the only thing that remained of the limb granted her by her mistress.

Though if she couldn’t have the Maiden’s power then no one could.

* * *

  
  


“Sun Wukong reporting! Mission accomplished. Blake Belladonna has been successfully returned to her team!”

The monkey faunus executed a clumsy Atlesian salute that Weiss returned in proper form, “At ease Agent Wukong. Good work on returning our stray to us. I have half a mind to put a bell on her.”

That earned an indignant squak from said cat faunus who was hanging just next to the ex-heiress. Yang was barely suppressing her laughter while Ruby was already in the throes of a laughing fit. 

“Really though, Sun, thanks for looking after our wayward teammate. It can’t have been easy.” Weiss spared a long stare at Blake who huffed and crossed her arms.

“Aw, I woulda done it anyways. I look after my friends.” Sun looked a little bashful but it made them smile even more. They knew he would have regardless, and that was what was really important. 

“More than friends, I’d say, “ Yang interrupted, throwing an arm over Sun’s shoulders, “Methinks the kitten doesn’t hate it nearly as much as she says she does.” Everyone looked to see a red cheeked Blake turn around and walk over to Ilia who was just joining them at the commissary.

Everyone had gathered at Mistral Central Station to see off the group heading to Argus. Ilia had only just arrived in the company of Blake’s parents, the three of them getting ready to set off back to Menagerie. They looked happy and Blake was simply over the moon at having dealt such a huge blow to the White Fang. Nothing had been able to truly get her down, not even Yang’s strange mood around her. Not that the blonde hadn’t tried to hide it but they were still partners and the cat faunus could tell there was something up with her ever since she had come back to the team. 

It wasn’t like she didn’t know why either. She remembered the story Yang had told her in Beacon, when she had been working herself too hard to investigate the White Fang. Her mother had abandoned her when she was little and Ruby’s mother had died. Blake knew the blonde had abandonment issues, it was something of a team secret though she suspected Jaune knew too. Blake suspected Yang was struggling with the blame over her mother leaving and seeing her teammate leaving, and the cat faunus  _ did  _ feel guilty for it. Especially when she saw the scar on Yang’s chest.

The woman in question came up to the group following closely behind Qrow, who was holding a bundle of tickets that he distributed. Blake had gotten a good look at the woman, who looked like an older Yang with black hair, over the past week as she made more and more frequent visits to the temporary home they had in Mistral. She didn’t miss the way her partner stiffened up when Raven showed up though the two made a show of not acknowledging each other’s existence. They had all heard the shouting. 

She turned her attention to her own mother who stood next to her husband and standing slightly behind was Ilia, until Kali dragged the girl forward. Blake was secretly pleased that her parents had seemed to take a liking to her old friend while the chameleon faunus seemed embarrassed about the attention. 

“You’ll be staying with your team, then?” Kali looked past Blake to her team.

“They need me. I left them once… I’m not going to do that again.” Her mother and father looked at each other and then looked back at their daughter, looks of pride on their faces. 

“We are so proud of you Blake.” Ghira pulled her into a hug that was joined by his wife. The young cat faunus relaxed into her parents’ embrace. She felt so relieved to hear those simple words. Blake knew they loved her and were proud but hearts were fickle things and the words soothed hers.

  
  


“I love you guys. I’ll visit again, when things have calmed down.” They didn’t know the truth and while she did think they would support her trying to save the world she didn’t want to worry them. After releasing them she turned to Ilia and with a tug from Kali the husband and wife slipped away to leave the two to say goodbye.

“Thanks again Ilia. I don’t think I could have done it without you.”

Ilia shook her head, “You’d have found a way.”

“No, I don’t think I could have. Ilia, thank you.”

Though the girl looked like she wanted to protest, the words died on her lips when she saw the look on Blake’s face. Instead a sad smile blossomed, “It’s me who should be thanking you Blake. You saved me, gave me a second chance where no one else would have.”

She stepped forward and hugged Blake, pink quickly flashing across her skin before it was gone again, “I have no words for how much I owe you Blake.” 

The cat faunus rest her hands gently on her friend’s back. Maybe she could never return the feelings the woman had for her but she could accept and understand them, “Good luck Ilia.”

They seperated and Ilia wiped moisture away from her eyes, “You too Blake. I...I.. Goodbye.” Another quick hug and Ilia was gone after the elder Belladonnas.

  
  


* * *

Yang stared out the window. She hated being cooped up and the promise of another few hours on the Argus Limited did little to temper her impatience. The snowy scenery passed by in a blur as the blonde sat by the window in an apathetic daze. Weiss didn’t want to go to Atlas and it showed in her snappy attitude while Yang  _ still  _ wasn’t sure how to act around Blake. She wanted to forgive the girl and in some ways she already had but there was a lingering doubt that nagged at her deep down. If she left once was she going to again?

She tried to dispel her funk with a deep breath but it didn’t work. Resigning herself she stood up, “Just gonna get some fresh air.” Yang responded to the looks from her teammates. 

It didn’t take her long to find Jaune sitting in one of the public areas of the train chatting with an old lady dressed in blue. He noticed her and a quick smile from him made one mirror his smile on her face. One hand came to rest on the back of his seat.

“Hey Yang, what’s up?”

“Nothing much. Just stretching my legs a bit.”

He gave her a knowing smirk, “Feeling cooped up?” She rolled her eyes but didn’t refute it. Just before she moved on she felt his hand pat the back of hers quickly. 

Yang decided a quick walk up and down the cars would do her some good. The Argus Limited was a fairly nice train, not that she’d ever been on one before. As she made her way towards the front of the train she saw the others hanging around. Qrow, Raven, and Oscar, probably Ozpin though, were having a conversation in the dining car. Her mother didn’t even spare her a glance and she pretended it didn’t bother her. 

In one of the front cars Nora had cornered one of the conductors and was asking him about how trains worked. Yang blatantly ignored Ren's long suffering stare in her direction as she backed out and decided to make her way back to their room. It looked like everyone wasn’t as bored as she was, she honestly would have loved a bit of excitement. Yang was getting antsy and that wasn’t a good sign for her temper.

_ I’d love to be able to destress right about now. _

The train shook hard and Yang was thrown to the side against a row of seats. 

“I didn’t do it!” She cried out and then blushed a moment later when she realized she’d said that out loud. A quick look out the windows showed exactly what was going on. Black figures could be seen flying about, chasing the train. Oscar broke into the carriage she was in, a worried but determined look on his face. 

“We have to get topside, I’ll go get Ren and Nora. Qrow’s getting the others.” 

  
  


* * *

“You know, I’m starting to think you were right about the grenade launcher Nora!” Jaune shouted against the wind as he blocked another fire blast from a manticore, he resisted the urge to wave his sword at the hovering grimm. The blond was feeling quite useless in this fight and noted to himself to at least pick up a ranged weapon in the future. It couldn’t hurt to be prepared. 

A thunk went off and the manticore he had blocked exploded into a pink puff of smoke, “Told you!~” Nora sang as she danced passed, aiming at groups of manticores with Magnhild.

Jaune blocked another shot as Ren ducked under his shield, gunning down another manticore. Each one they killed was replaced by another, there was no end to them. Team RWBY was a few cars down from them and were slaughtering the manticores but being wary of the much larger sphinx. The two proper professionals of the group were wading through the enemies. Qrow’s weapon barked and dissolved a manticore before he jumped up and bisected another. Raven was even more efficient as she used her powers to hover around attacking the grimm from the air. 

There was a scream as one of the Argus Limited’s professional huntsmen was carried off into the forest. Jaune felt his blood freeze at the sight, knowing what fate awaited him. He shook the image from his head and shoved the tip of his sword through the gullet of a manticore that had come too close. Even the blood of the creature dissolved off of his blade as it died, flaking off like ash in the wind.

Suddenly the turrets on top of the train came to life, firing upon the Grimm with abandon and reducing their numbers visibly. The train carriages had armor slide into place over the windows as it was transformed into a defensive mode. The packs numbers - if that’s what a group of them are called- dwindled rapidly as the combat moved on. 

In his moment’s distraction a manticore tackled him to the rooftop, his shield being forced into its jaws to prevent the creature’s attempts to maul him. Jaune’s sword skittered across the train as a clawed foot knocked into his hand. The beast froze, however, as a thin blade pierced it’s cranium. Through the dissolving grimm he spied the grinning face of Neopolitan. 

Ren jogged over and helped him up, looking around he noticed that the only grimm left was the sphinx which was tied down before being split in half by a combined attack from Qrow and Ruby. The train shuddered and Jaune nearly fell over as he almost lost his balance. It looked like now that combat was over everyone was eager to get back down below. 

“You guys get back down below, I’ve gotta get my sword.” Ren nodded and the rest of his team plus Neo started clambering back down into the train. It looked like the others were doing the same. Eager to get out of the chilling wind Jaune made his way over to where his sword had slid, on the edge of the roof. 

Jaune counted himself lucky the weapon had now slid right off the tracks, imagining what his father might say if he lost the Arc ancestral blade. Being very careful, he inched his way up and knelt down to pick the sword up, placing it back in it’s sheath at his waist. With a quick sigh in relief her turned around right as the train shook again, sending him off balance. He felt a pit open up underneath him at the weightless moment as he entered freefall. Jaune’s arms windmilled in a futile attempt to right his position even as he knew it was far too late.

He was going to fall.

“Jaune!” Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Ruby burst into rose petals and streak across to him. She had been the last to go under and had noticed his plight. He felt a heavy impact as she slammed into his chest, wrapping her arms around him as he felt himself affected by her semblance. The world itself seemed to slow down as they whistled through the air. He couldn’t tell if that was the wind screaming in his ears, Ruby, or himself. 

They were both lifted up and towards the train but their momentum started stalling. Looking down he saw Ruby’s head loll to the side as her muscles relaxed, her eyes closing. Jaune felt gravity take hold of them. The world stopped spinning as they started falling and he gripped the girl to him tightly and closed his eyes as the ground came rushing up to meet them.


	26. Alone in the Woods

Jaune was cold, very cold, and a little numb but he could still feel the shaking. Something sounded in the distance but he tried to ignore it and go back to sleep. He hurt too much to wake up, it was too early. 

“Jaune!” Ruby sounded desperate and it was that thought which kick started his mind. In a flash it all came back to him, snapping open his eyes as they focused on the only other person in the dim light, his friend Ruby Rose. The last thing that happened was that they had fallen off the train. Or rather he had, Ruby tried to catch him and guide him back on with her semblance but it had seemed the strain had been too much for her. Snowflakes dusted her hood and he could feel them landing, and melting, on his face. 

The young woman looked like she was about to burst into tears when he groaned and sat up, “Ruby? Are you okay.”

“I should be asking you that! You hit your head!” So that was why he felt like he had a rail spike through his head. Jaune managed a weak smile at Ruby’s fierce pout as he reached up to feel the not so little bump on the back of his head. Luckily it seemed his aura had protected him mostly. 

“I think I’m okay Ruby, there’s no blood.”Ruby opened her mouth to protest, “I know, It doesn’t mean much but it’s gonna have to do. We can’t exactly stay here.”

He stopped and looked at his surroundings, there was a light layer of snow and it had started coming down from the grey clouds. The sun itself was three quarters of the way across the sky which was a problem, it was about one o’clock when the grimm had attacked the train, they’d been out for hours. 

“Ruby, how long was I out?”

“I don’t know, I only woke up a few minutes ago. Jaune, I’m so sorry!” Her silver eyes watered as she squeezed them shut, hands trembling in her lap. The blond sat up and ignored the sudden bout of dizziness to put his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault Ruby, if anyone should apologize it should be me. I’m the one who lost my balance. You tried to save me. Thanks for that by the way.”

“But I didn’t, I couldn’t, and now we both fell off the train.”

“And you shouldn’t beat yourself up about that. You tried and that’s what’s important. If you hadn’t I’d have been left to fall off by myself. So maybe you didn’t save us,” He made sure to look her in the eyes, “but you saved me.”

Ruby didn’t look like she liked it but she nodded in acceptance of his logic. Jaune stood up, dusting the snow off of himself and trying desperately to ignore the seeping cold that was threatening to make him start shivering. The girl next to him, as he held his hand out to help her up, looked even colder than he was. As she stood he saw her wince and favor her foot. 

“Ruby what’s wrong?!”

“It’s nothing Jau-” She saw his face and winced again, no doubt deciding not to play it off, “I think I hurt my ankle when he fell. I don’t know, I was unconscious and my aura wasn’t up.”

“Right, lemme see it.” 

Kneeling down Jaune held out his hands and Ruby tentatively put her left foot in his hands. The knight concentrated for a brief moment and felt his aura pouring into hers. 

“Ohhh!” Ruby mumbled and inhaled sharply when she felt the semblance being poured into her. He looked up at her face and she flushed and looked to the side, “It feels weird okay?”

Jaune looked up at her and chuckled, then paused finding it weird that he found anything funny at the moment. The situation was dire, here the two of them were, stranded in a forest probably filled with Grimm. It was winter and the snow would make the trek back to civilization that much harder. By foot he estimated they were probably days from Argus and they had fallen without so much as a ration between the two of them, their packs still on the train. 

After a minute of using his semblance on her, Ruby’s foot was fully healed and she gingerly put it down before putting her weight on it, “Thanks Jaune. That’s pretty handy.”

Jaune gave his friend a smile, “Yeah. What’s next? Should we sit still? Maybe they’ll send someone to find us.”

“I think we should head for Argus, follow the tracks North. If someone comes looking they’ll find us there but I don’t want to risk it with the Grimm.”

“Right. It’ll be dark soon and we’ll need a shelter but most importantly a fire. Warmth is gonna be our biggest problem.” 

Darkness descended fast as they made their way along the tracks, making sure to use the treeline as cover. Jaune’s breath crystallized in front of him and out of the corner of his eyes he could see Ruby’s breath in the air. Without thinking he sidled up next to him, their sides occasionally bumping together. It was cold the occasional warmth he got from her was welcome and he could tell the same for her. They could feel the temperature going down steadily with the sun and he couldn’t see much of a spot to rest along the tracks. Talking it out they decided to head slightly more into the woods to see if they could find something. They decided to ‘make camp’ at a downded, half rotted tree, It wasn’t much but it was doubtful they’d find something like a cave and making a fire would be dangerous underneath one of the numerous conifers. 

Using their weapons they decided to cut some branches from nearby trees and worked quickly to strip them of their needles. Jaune used the flat edge of his shield to scrape away the snow in a large area around where they would be staying. Cutting the branches down they laid them together and that was when Jaune cursed.

“I don’t have any flint.” Ruby looked at him with a small smile and a raised eyebrow before producing a shell from one of her magazines.

“I thought we were gonna use this anyways.” The magazine she had pulled it from had a flame printed on it and she carefully pulled the bullet out of the casing and poured the dust from the cartridge onto the small pile of wood. Jaune took the hint when she gestured at it. He slammed the tip of Crocea Mors into the dust and it ignited instantly engulfing the wood. When the flames died down they found the wood was burning nicely. Ruby grinned at Jaune and he grinned back, with a whoop they high fived each other and sat side by side, shoulders touching, against the log. 

As if in after thought Ruby undid her brooch, taking her cape off and draping it across the both of them. When he looked at her funny she chuckled, “For warmth.”

“Yeah but it’s your Mom’s.”

She shook her head, “Mom would be disappointed if I didn’t use it like this in an emergency, not that I don’t want to, I do. I don’t mind. Honest.” 

Jaune couldn’t bring himself to really disagree, the cloak was surprisingly warm even if it didn’t cover them completely. With the fire there it warmed them up enough. By the time they had lit the fire the sun had fully set and they could spy the fractured moon through the canopy. They stayed side by side like that, Jaune losing himself in the flickering flames for a good while. 

“Hey Jaune?” He tore his eyes from the fire to look at the girl trapped in the wilderness with him, “Did you ever imagine we’d be where we are?”

He returned to staring listlessly at the fire while he thought of an answer to her odd question. Did he think he’d be on a quest to slay some Queen of the Grimm? The short answer was no. Being a hero was what Jaune had wanted what seemed like forever ago. He’d been a hopeless optimist when he’d started attending Beacon. No training and no aura he was lucky he hadn’t died when Ozpin had launched them from the school’s cliff. He’d survived, though, and became the partner of the strongest student in their year, if not the whole school. Again that was his luck and he was surprised it wasn’t his semblance seeing as how he should have been outed. Numerous times his lack of skill and training had reared their heads and time and time again he was saved by friends he didn’t deserve. He’d realized quickly enough that being a huntsman wasn’t the same as being a hero, far from it in fact. The life of a hunter was incredibly dangerous.

“I didn’t expect I’d make it this far, honestly. Did I think we’d be chasing down magical relics? No. But if it’s anyone it would be you guys. You guys could do anything. Maybe, “ He looked to the side, away from her, “Maybe I’m holding you back.”

To his surprise he felt something on his chin as his face was moved to stare her directly in her furious eyes, “That’s crap and you know it Jaune! My sister would be  _ dead  _ if it wasn’t for you. They Tyrian guy might have even kidnapped me and taken me who knows where.” Her hand covered his mouth when he made to argue, “It’s not a question of slowing us down. We need to stay together to survive what’s coming.”

Her silver eyes searched his sapphire ones and her hand stayed over his mouth until he nodded, “If you say something like that again I’ll tell Yang, and she’ll kick your butt.” She pouted cutely for a moment until it dropped and a worried look took over, “Because of my silver eyes, the legends say I’m destined to become some kind of warrior. I got into Beacon two years early. Of course I want to help people but this is too much. I’m not some legendary warrior, I’m just a normal girl. I don’t want these expectations.”

“Nope.” The unexpected answer made her look at him, eyes watering in the night air a small sound escaping her lips, “Ruby you don’t need to worry about any of that stuff. Like you just said we need to stick together. None of us, your friends, want you to do this alone. Besides, your sister almost left you to do this herself.”

Ruby snorted, “She didn’t know about Salem or the relics back then. She just wanted to find the person who did this to me.” She lifted her prosthetic arm up and waved it vaguely, “I came with to be there with her. She doesn’t need me to protect her but if I’m not there and she dies….” She trailed off, struggling for words and Jaune could guess what she wanted to say.

“You want to be there just in case there’s something you can do.” She nodded, “I get that.” 

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, “You’ve been thinking about your eyes a lot haven’t you?”

“How could I not? I’m told I have some sort of superpower but nobody can tell me more than that. I petrified a dragon, Jaune. And you saw what happened to Cinder. How did I do that?! And I’m expected to do it again? And then there’s the fact that Ozpin knew about my eyes. He commented on them when we first met. Is that why I got in early? My eyes?” 

Her chest was heaving and Ruby looked again on the verge of tears and before he could think about it his arm was around her shoulders, drawing her in closer underneath the cloak, “I may not know the answers but I can promise I’ll be here for you. And I’m sure Yang and the rest of your team and even my steam will stand beside you.”

The girl was shivering as she sidled even closer to him as if trying to mold into his side for more warmth. Leaning his head over he noticed the cloak wasn’t covering her entirely, she had given him a larger portion. Rolling his eyes at her selfless stupidity he reached his other hand over. It was probably a testament to how distracted she was that she didn’t notice until both hands came in under her armpits. With a squeak she was dragged over onto his lap, her face matching her cloak as he readjusted it over the both of them.

“Sorry Ruby, I know it’s embarrassing but please bear with it. We need to share more body heat.”

Ruby merely nodded and stiffened even further when his arms wrapped around her waist because he had nowhere else to really put them. His face was flushing a bit too, knowing how embarrassing this was and praying that Yang never heard a word of this, he didn’t think he’d survive it. 

* * *

Ruby’s heart was threatening to pound it’s way out of her chest and into the fire in front of them. Everything inch of her was hyper aware of the man whose arms were wrapped around her waist. 

_ I need to calm down. This is for survival!  _ Though it did feel nice.  _ No! He’s Yang’s, I can’t enjoy this! _

She turned her head slightly trying to escape the breath on her neck, it was even and constant. Ruby thanked the stars that he was asleep. They’d decided on a watch rotation, Grimm still inhabited the area. Ruby had volunteered first watch if only because she wouldn’t have been able to sleep like this, not with her heart hammering away at the close contact with her sister’s boyfriend. That alone brought all sorts of problems for her because she found that it was way more comfortable than she’d have thought it was. 

_ No! Bad brain! _

She knew she had to give him up but how was she supposed to do that when he did things like this? She almost let out a low whine at the unfairness of it all, and then cursed her brain for thinking things like that in a potentially life or death situation. However as the minutes passed the thoughts faded and she got used to being in his lap, the warmth very welcome, as she waited for her watch to end, occasionally feeding wood to the fire. 

  
  
  


Yang was almost pulling her hair out with worry, and that said something about the girl as she paced back and forth in the car they had taken over. It had taken them a bit to figure out Jaune and Ruby were missing and even longer to search the train for them, when that came up empty they realized that the two had never come down from the roof of the train.

“I’m gonna go search for them.” Her eyes lit up red as she was slammed against the wall by her partner. She glared at Blake. 

“No! I know you’re worried about Ruby and Jaune but Qrow went out to look for them. You know that, please stop asking every five minutes.” 

Instead of responding she merely huffed and looked aside, Blake releasing Yang’s collar. Everyone else was on edge too, Weiss promising retribution under her breath if Jaune got Ruby hurt and Nora mumbling about the ex-heiress not being able to with broken legs. Ren reined his partner in with a steadying hand on her shoulder but the man looked as on edge as she had ever seen him. 

Her mother stood in a corner, arms crossed and calm but that would be typical, she didn’t care about anything but the tribe. Oscar looked agitated, sitting there like he didn’t know what to do with his hands. His back straightened and his voice changed when he stood to address her.

“Miss Xiao-Long please try to restrain yourself. Qrow will find them and hopefully Raven can open a portal, bringing the three of them to us.” Raven nodded when they looked over to her, “However it is imperative we get the lamp to Argus, I fear it being in the open like this.”

“The open? You mean on a train speeding through Anima?”

“Yes, it is safer behind the walls.” 

“Wouldn’t being in a city that big make it worse?”

“It is not people I am worried about, Miss Xiao-Long.”

It didn’t take much for her to put things together, he meant Grimm. But they could handle a few Grimm, though without the firepower of Raven they probably would have had a tough time against the Manticore she still couldn’t see why it made such a huge difference. If it had to do with the grim, however, then that meant Salem as well. She still wasn’t too sure about the dread queen but if Ozpin was this worried about the Grimm then she must have been able to track it somehow, or maybe the Grimm recognize it.

“What do you mean Ozpin? Why Grimm?”

If it was possible it looked like he was uncomfortable, “Well Miss Xiao-Long that is because the Lamp attracts the Grimm passively.”

The only sound in the car was that of the train itself, the occasional clunk as the train moved closer to it’s destination. However everyone could tell the temperature went up a few degrees and was continuing to go up. Yang’s hands were clenched at her sides, her hair was almost luminous, her eyes crimson. Raven stood a little straighter and placed her hand on the hilt of her weapon.

“You didn’t think to tell us this before?” She spit out through grit teeth, “That maybe we should have been prepared!”

No one else made a sound, no one else could as they watched the scene unfold before them, afraid that moving might set the girl off.

“Please Miss Xiao-Long, you have to unders-”

“No! You understand that by  _ your  _ actions you have put Ruby in danger! Those Grimm were only here because of the Relic, weren’t they!?”

“Not necessarily.”

“But you can’t prove they weren’t.” Her voice lowered to a growl, “You put every single one of these people in jeopardy.”

“And how else would you propose we move the relic, hm?”

“I don’t know! But maybe we could have found a better way if you had told us anything! If you want us to be a part of your little quest then you need to trust us Ozpin!”

“I do trust you but there are some things that I just don’t think you should be burdened with knowing.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it!” Behind him Raven was smirking from her spot in the cabin, “Tell us everything, now!”

“Things just aren’t that simple Miss Xiao-Long.”

“No, I believe it is.” 

The two stood there staring at each other, one seething and the other radiating calmness. The calm mask was broken by a wince, “Oscar, no!” Ozpin shouted to his host. 

His body contorted, like the act was bringing him physical harm, “Yang.” He- Oscar- grit out, “The lamp! Take it! Her name is Jinn!” 

Raven moved instantly by his side before anyone could process what the boy was say, she swept by him snatching the golden lamp in her hand as he writhed in pain against Ozpin. Casually, she tossed the object to her daughter.

“No! Yang you-” He was interrupted when a red blade tickled his throat, Raven’s other hand on his shoulder holding him still. 

Cautiously Yang stared at the lantern in her hand, the glowing blue pulse of it’s light feeling almost warm in her hands. She stared at it for a moment and looked back at Oscar, now Ozpin as he desperately reached out to her.

“Yang, please give the relic back!”

That is precisely what she decided not to do. She was done following his orders, not if he was putting them all in danger. 

“Jinn?” The relic reacted letting out a large pulse of energy as smoke the color of it’s light began billowing out of the vents in it. Worried for a moment Yang covered her mouth with one hand but let it drop when the smoke coalesced into the shape of a large, blue, floating woman. Gold accessories hung from her as she leaned on one hand.

“I am Jinn of the Relic of Knowledge. I know everything, past and current.” Her eyes flickered to Ozpin who now had a hand clamped over his mouth as well as a blade at his throat, Raven nodded towards her, “Ask me your question, I still have two answers this century.”

Yang’s eyes hardened as she listened to the being,  _ Ozpin even lied about that huh? If he won’t tell us the truth…  _

She looked up and met the thing’s cerulean eyes, eyes deep and jaded, “What else is Ozpin hiding?”

As the world exploded into whiteness she heard the echo of the old man’s shout.


	27. Not So Alone in the Woods

Ozpin’s borrowed body was slammed into the wall of the train car, the windows nearby rattling slightly from the impact. Red eyes glared into hazel ones as Raven Branwen curled her fingers into his collar, his feet not quite touching the ground he was eye to eye with the livid woman. It was the first deep emotion elicited from Yang’s mother. The blonde could only stand there and watch numbly, still processing the information she had just been given. Her hands almost shook as she reclaimed the lantern. Everyone else looked just as stunned though Raven was the first to find her voice.

“You bastard! I knew it!” the bandit choked out, “Salem’s unkillable. You knew, you fucking knew it and yet you led us on this suicide mission!”

“Raven, there were reas-”

“No! You don’t get to fucking reason or justify this! Not after what you did to me! To Qrow, Summer, or Tai! How dare you lie to us after we trusted you.” her voice lowered to a hiss, “I was right about you, Ozpin. The only plan you had was to throw someone else’s life at  _ her. _ ”

She pressed through his protest, voice whispering in the near silence of the train car, “You took us in, we trusted you. Qrow still trusts you and you’ll only have yourself to blame when he stops too.”

“Enough!” Everyone would have frozen at the word had they not been stock still already. The new person was diminutive, with grey hair and a cane adorned with a decorative skull. Yang recognized her as the old lady Jaune had been talking to before he…. went missing. The blonde bit back the worry that threatened to overwhelm her as she was reminded of the precarious position her sister and boyfriend were in.

“You!” The old lady pointed her cane at Raven, “Put that boy down this instant! I won’t let you harm a child.”

Raven dropped Ozpin, who caught himself on the ground with entirely too much composure, and she levelled her glare at the newcomer, “Who are you, Elder?”

The old lady simply stopped and snorted, two hands atop her cane, Yang could feel her rolling her eyes even though the cybernetics she had prevented her actually doing it, “I’m Maria Calavera.”

Raven nodded, “It’s best you don’t get involved in this, Miss Calavera. You don’t know who this  _ boy  _ is.”

Maria’s cybernetic eyes narrowed in on Oscar, “Ozma, right?”

Oscar nodded, “Kind of. Ozpin is gone.” They spared only a moment to look shocked at the elder woman’s knowledge.

“Then get him back here now!” A loud thunk resounded as Maria rapped her cane on Raven’s knee.

“You be quiet! You’re lucky I got everyone back a car or else you’d have panicking civilians seeing visions!” 

That got a reaction from everyone, Yang rushed forward to Maria, the old lady looking up at her inquisitively, “Did anyone…”

“No. I was the only one in the next car. Still I can’t say I expected gods to actually exist.” Yang almost slumped in relief. Her mother made her way to the opposite end of the car, sliding open the door there. It slammed shut as she left, the rattling in its track causing Yang to flinch. For a few more moments she stared after the black haired woman, almost expecting her to rage back through the door, her blood red blade drawn, but it never happened and with the volatile woman gone the tension in the car slowly drained and Yang took stock of everyone. 

Ren was the closest to showing emotion she had ever seen him, his hands clenched into fists as Nora whispered into his ear, being the voice of reason for once. Blake’s ears betrayed her, flattened against her skull as her expression was unreadable. Weiss chewed on her lip, obviously wanting to say something but probably not sure what exactly she really wanted to say. 

Yang felt a pang for the girl, she’d just come from Atlas and now they were going back and for what? There wasn’t a real reason to go. Oscar picked himself up off the ground and sat down on a seat, his hands were trembling slightly and that alone told her that Ozpin wasn’t the one in control at the moment.

“The civilians could hear you all shouting in the next car. I moved them back further before they started attracting more Grimm. Now tell me, why exactly are a bunch of huntsmen and huntresses yelling their heads off like a bunch of idiots.”

Oscar was the one who spoke up first, motioning towards the lamp still in Yang’s hands, “The lamp itself attracts Grimm. I… Ozpin didn’t exactly tell anyone and so… well… things got heated.”

“Not to mention,” Yang spoke up, trying not to glare at Oscar, it wasn’t his fault, “Two of our own disappeared, we think they fell off the train. Uncle Qrow, another huntsman that was accompanying us, went to find them.”

“The blond one? His name was Jaune right?”

Yang was about to ask how she knew his name when she suddenly remembered where she’d seen the old woman before. Maria was the person Jaune had been talking to before the attack.

“Yeah, him and my sister.”

Maria put both hands on her cane, staring at her with her cybernetic eyes, “So. What’s your plan?”

  
  


* * *

The next day was hard for Ruby and Jaune, her eyes were heavy as Jaune had shaken her awake. She’d long since gotten used to being in his lap and had succumbed to her need for sleep once her watch was over. The howling wind laced with snow obstructed their vision as a blizzard descended upon them not an hour after they had set out once again.

It was terrible. Throughout the day her stomach rumbled as they tried to wander through the snowstorm. The trees, luckily, lessened the wind as they walked closely together. Occasionally they chatted but words took energy and it was one thing they were in short supply of. The misery stretched the time on forever and they only really noticed the passage of time when the light started to fade and it started becoming more difficult to see. 

The two exchanged worried glances, neither had noticed how long they had been traveling and they needed to find shelter fast. 

It was lucky, then, that they stumbled across a road. Though the term road might have been a bit much, it was definitely a will traveled path, wide enough for vehicles. Jaune looked up but the grey sky wasn’t helping. Without being able to tell where the sun was exactly, determining where they wanted to go was an educated guess at best. He made a promise, and not for the first time that day, to always keep a compass on him at all times in the future. As long as they survived of course. 

The gnawing hunger he’d been feeling all day wasn’t the only thing clawing in his gut, the worry for his friend’s safety was opening a pit in his stomach. Jaune didn’t want to be the one responsible for Ruby’s death. He loved his friends not to mention that she was Yang’s sister. The blond couldn’t stop thinking about Yang and how she would feel if something happened to her. 

Jaune wanted to see Yang too.

They’d only just started dating and even he didn’t really know what his feelings for her really were. Love? Maybe. He certainly liked her, certainly wanted to get to know her better and explore the relationship. It was the thought of her and his friends that kept him standing as they marched along the path. They chose to follow the road in a random direction, hoping there was something close along the way they went. 

Jaune looked over towards his friend who had her red cloak wrapped tightly about her. In the dimming light they spotted a huge shadow looming out of the snow. As they got closer they made out a large gate in a massive wooden wall, it was the entrance to a village. The large banner over the wooden gate displayed the words Kanshou. 

The wooden doors stood slightly ajar, just enough for them to slip in. Despite yelling out, no guardsman responded to them. The lamps that were placed inside the village were dark and not a single window that they could see was lit. Both of them had a sinking feeling in their gut, this was something they’d seen several times before on their way to Mistral. 

Kanshou was abandoned. 

Doors to shops hung open and swayed in the wind that was muted by the wall. Looking closely they saw some evidence of struggle. There were broken windows, stains from blood, even claw marks. However there wasn’t a single instance of human remains as they moved through the village. There were no bones, not a corpse to the town. 

“Maybe someone came back and buried the dead?” They both knew how unlikely Ruby’s suggestion was but chose to try and believe it anyways. 

“Yeah, maybe.” They both fell into silence as they explored the ghost town. Jaune gripped Crocea Mors in his hand and Ruby kept Crescent Rose out and in rifle form. Both were worried about the possibility of Grimm hanging around. It was unlikely they’d remain in a place devoid of prey, though if negativity someone lingered then the monsters could very well still lurk around here. 

“So this is the result of Lionheart's betrayal, huh?” Ruby looked at him in question, “Qrow said Lionheart led all the huntsmen and huntresses into traps to weaken their defenses right? With the rise in negativity caused by Cinder at Beacon, Grimm attacks increased. With less hunters, more villages end up being attacked and ending up like… this.” He gestured limply with his sword.

Ruby grimaced and gripped her weapon tighter, “How can someone do something like this? Beacon, Haven, all of Mistral. How can someone take so many lives like this?”

Jaune felt like he was going to be sick, “I don’t know Ruby.” He looked over and nudged her with an elbow, “But that’s why we’re here right? To stop them.”

The girl looked back at him with a small, fragile smile, and nodded, “Yup.”

“We should see if there are any supplies, there should be a general goods store around here. Hopefully we can find food and water, maybe even camping stuff.”

They hesitated outside of said shop when they found it, both of their gazes locked onto the entrance of the stoor. The door was broken off the frame and lay inside and on the floor, a dark streak covered it. The stain ran from behind the counter and out the door, painting a gruesome picture of what happened to the person who had left it. There was evidence of more struggle further inside. 

Several aisles were tipped over, with more dark stains in several other spots, it looked like several people had taken refuge in the store. Most of the food goods were spoiled and frozen though luckily they happened upon some canned food. Though it was mainly just beans, food was food at the moment and they stuffed as much as they could in the packs they had salvaged from the camping area of the store. 

Being a frontier town survival equipment was commonplace and a necessity. Jaune pocketed a compass, dust lighter, and some sleeping backs. Ruby shouldered a tent that they could use. Carefully they scoured the store in search of other useful items but found nothing. Eventually they both agreed to find somewhere else to stay.

By the time they exited the store the snowstorm had calmed, though the sky remained drab and grey. The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon and the pair hurried off to the housing area to hopefully find a house they could stay the night in, preferably one with a fireplace. 

They settled on one with a door that hung ajar, like so many others, but had a dust stove in the living room for heat. With the front door closed they finally noticed the stains in the carpet. It ran up the stairs to the second floor and they decided to close the door to the stairs as well. They knew what they would probably find up there. 

The stove still had plenty of dust left in it and they sat there, enjoying the warmth as it started warming up the room. Ruby laid back on her sleeping bag as Jaune opened the cans and placed them on top of the flat surface of the stove. He could finally feel life coming back into his limbs by the time they started eating out of the cans, careful not to burn themselves. It may have been canned food but both were so hungry they wolfed down the contents and sighed contentedly once they were done, Ruby even patting her stomach in relief.

She caught him looking and they both stared at each other until they burst out laughing. It wasn’t really funny but the release felt great, even with the seriousness of their situation, or maybe because of it. The young woman drew her knees in, resting her chin on one of them as she stared off into nothing. Jaune simply laid back and enjoyed the warmth, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward and he was thankful for that. It could be easy, sometimes, to make a situation awkward with Ruby. They both had a tendency to put a foot in their mouth and it amplified when they were in close proximity. 

“You really like Yang, don’t you?” It took Jaune a few moments to realize what she’d asked and he looked over at her, she was still in the same position, her eyes still focused on the stove. 

“Where’s this coming from?” 

“Eh, she’s my sister. And I’m bored.” She shot him an apologetic smile.

Jaune shrugged before responding to her question, “Yeah I do.”

“I’d give you the obligatory ‘don’t hurt my sister’ speech but I’m pretty sure Uncle Qrow already did that.” She giggled when he pulled a face at the mention of it, “Honestly it’s pretty cool. My sister’s with one of my best friends.” 

She didn’t sound like it was cool, Jaune noticed. Her smile was fake and he wondered how he even knew that, “Are you sure you’re okay with it? I meran I know I’m not really reliable but-” 

“You’re fine.” She said sharply, sending a small glare his way, “Don’t make me repeat myself Jaune. You’re great. It’s just…”

She teased her lip with her teeth, and uncertain look replacing her glare. Jaune couldn’t help but have his interest piqued. Her silver eyes slid to his, an almost pleading look in hers.

“The thing is Jaune…. I…” She fidgeted and he remained silent, not wanting to push or rush her, “Jaune, I -”

_ Bang! _

Both of their heads shot towards the stairs, the sound having come from upstarts and then looked to each other, silent communication passing between them. In a moment both had their weapons up and ready and they waited, listening. It wasn’t their imaginations playing tricks on them as they both heard the sound of soft thumping coming from above. It was slow and steady, carrying itself from one end of the house to the other, where the stairs were.

The sound of steps, for that was the only thing that Jaune could think of them being, stopped at the door to the stairs they had closed earlier. A loud thunk came and the door rattled as something pounded on it.

Jaune’s heart was in his throat as he inched towards the door, Ruby close behind him. Raising his shield he nodded to Ruby who slid around him and laid a hand on the doorknob, she met his eyes before his blue orbs moved back to the door. The young sniper carefully turned the knob before flinging it open. 

Nothing happened for a split second before a black shape came screeching out of the doorway and slamming into his shield. Black hands with white, claw-like protrusions started scrambling on his shield and found purchase on the rim. It pulled itself up and it’s Grimm visage filled his vision.

It was humanoid with flecks of white bone plating here and there on it’s skin. It had a singular, large plate on it’s brow. The thing screeched and clawed at him and inm his panic he slammed it into the wall with his shield, taking several steps back. It scrambled back up and stared at them with red orbs before they heard an audible pop. The thing’s jaw opened even further than a human’s could and it seemed to take in air before letting forth a scream.

The sound was an inhuman wail that had the pair wincing but not daring to cover their ears. The sound was cut off as Ruby bisected the creature from shoulder to hip and it fell to the ground, silent and unmoving. Both of their hearts were hammering from the encounter and in the distance they could hear a new sound. 

All around them similar wails took up in chorus and as more and more sounded in the night Ruby and Jaune looked at each other, a feeling of ice cold dread settling in his stomach.


	28. A Grimm Situation

As the inhuman screeching reached a crescendo Ruby could feel her blood freezing over, a chill passing through her entire body. She could see a similar fear reflected in the pure blue eyes of her friend. Immediately she went to the window but with the darkness the only thing she could make out was the occasional flicker of a shadow,

“Ruby.” Jaune’s voice cracked a little and she turned around to find him staring at the disintegrating remains of the grimm they had just killed. Ruby’s breath hitched as she saw what he was seeing. The smoking corpse was indeed disappearing but what had caught both of their attention was what had remained.

A human body.

Beyond the severing wound it had taken from Ruby the only other wounds they could see were a pair of puncture wounds on it’s wrist. Jaune walked over and draped his sleeping bag over the body though the damage was done. The young woman could feel her hands shaking violently.

_ I killed someone?  _

“Ruby. Ruby!” She looked up as Jaune grabbed her shoulders and gave her a hard shake, “Get yourself together, they were already dead.”

“You don’t know that!” She didn’t know what she was saying anymore. Should couldn’t tear her eyes away from the still form underneath his sleeping bag. 

“It doesn’t matter!” He gave her another good shake and forced her to look him in her eyes, “Look, Ruby, if the rest of the village met the same fate as this person then most likely the things coming after us are the rest of the villagers. That’s way too many for us to handle. We need to leave and I need you to keep it together.”

She drew in breaths rapidly but didn’t answer. When she closed her eyes the visage of the gaunt, dessicated villager remained. Suddenly she felt something cool against her forehead and something else came to rest around her shoulders.

“It’s okay Ruby. You’re gonna be okay. I’m gonna get you back to Yang.” 

Ruby looked up into his deep blue eyes and held their gaze. Through the fear she felt a small sliver of comfort transferring through the small smile he gave her. For a moment she rested her head against his chest, gathering her courage and trying to steal just a tiny bit of his. She knew it now, why her sister fell for him. It had been so obvious that she hadn’t been able to see it. The reason why she, too, had fallen for him, even though she knew it would just cause them all pain. It was more than just his kindness or the way he was easy to talk to, though those were pluses. No, the real reason was the fact that he didn’t give up. It was his drive to better himself even though he was so far behind everyone else. He’d even caught up before they’d realized. 

The fingers of both hands curled around the top of his breastplate and she prayed for his courage to find her. Slowly her hands stopped shaking and she took a deep breath, still aware of the howling in the night. 

“Sorry Yang.” She mumbled to her sister as she stood on her tiptoes, pulling him down the rest of the way until their lips met. It was a brief affair and she found herself missing it almost as soon as it ended but she looked up at him with a smile and a wink, “For good luck.”

  
  


* * *

Jaune’s mind whirled as Ruby ducked away to check the window again, he could still feel the tingling touch of her lips on his.

_ Yang’s going to kill me. _

The howling coming from outside, infinitely closer than before, brought his mind slamming back into reality. He could figure things out later, right now they had to survive whatever it was that was coming for them. Stepping up behind his friend he peered out the window. Red eyes could be seen in the distance, some on the roofs but most down in the streets. All of the creatures hung back away from the house but one thing was for certain, they were surrounded.

“Why are they just standing there?” Ruby asked.

“Not sure but I’m not liking our chances of getting through those streets.” Ruby hummed in agreement to his observation.

“I have an idea.” She continued when he gave her a nod, “If we get onto the roof through the second story we might be able to traverse from rooftop to rooftop.”

“Ruby I don’t think I can make some of those jumps.” The space between some buildings was a good fifteen feet. 

“Trust me Jaune. I can get us over those. It’s better than taking our chances on-”

They were interrupted by a new sound that echoed out across the village, a deep, throaty roar that couldn’t have been made by human vocal chords. All movement outside stopped for a moment before, as one, all the shadows moved and the red glowing eyes charged in closer. More of those creatures became visible, all of them were skeletal with inky black skin and various bone protrusions across the surface. Something caught his eye on the rooftop, a large shuffling form disappeared from view as quickly as he’d seen it. It looked far bigger than one of the villager-grimm.

A window shattered as one of the humanoid Grimm tried to force itself through, gouging it’s sides on the sharp remainders of glass. The thing hissed and spit, it’s glaring red eyes trained on him. The front door banged rapidly, rattling in the frame as it shook, the hinges bulging outwards as multiple Grimm piled at the entrance with all their might. 

Ruby tugged on his arm and he tore his gaze and focused in on his companion’s back as they rushed up the stairs. Vaguely his mind noted the sound of splintering wood as the front door broke, letting in the horde of creatures into the house. Jaune took a moment to close the door at the base of the stairs in an attempt to keep the Grimm at bay for even a few seconds longer.

He bounded up the stairs two at a time, following the billowing red cloak as she rushed into a room. The floor was coated in dried blood, furniture overturned and torn to shreds. The bed in the room was nothing but a pile of springs and stuffing. This was where the dead one downstairs had come from, Jaune guessed. The window of the room was smashed out, glass littering the floor.

Ruby’s boots crunched glass underfoot and she stood on the window sill, “We’ll get onto the rooftops from here. We can hopefully make it to the wall.” Her cloak disappeared into the night and a crash was heard behind him as he mounted the broken window. He could feel the sharp edges digging into his palm, his aura pushing back, as he turned around and saw the figures rushing up the stairs. His boots touched down onto the shingles of the roof and he drew his blade to face the coming horde. As they tried to force themselves through after him. 

With a lunge he shoved the tip through the eye socket of the lead creature and wrenched it free, tearing it’s cranium apart and causing it to slump down lifelessly in the middle of the window, blocking the portal. The rest of the group behind it struggled to get through together and Jaune figured he’d bought yet another few seconds. 

The blond took a deep breath as he caught sight of Ruby on the next building that was only a short jump. He pushed off at a sprint and took the jump, his heart thumping in his chest as he caught a glimpse of the churning mass of Grimm on the street directly below him. His boots slammed down on the shingles, nearly slipping, as he pumped his legs after Ruby who was just ahead of him. She paused momentarily to cut down another of the Grimm the had been on the rooftops. 

Jaune brought his shield up and bodily slammed it into another figure that was trying to latch onto her from behind, sending it into the horde below. The edge of the building rapidly approaching, Jaune saw the expanse open up before them. It wasn’t a jump that he could make. Before he could say anything, however, Ruby turned and stuck out her left hand. Instantly he understood so he sheathed Crocea Mors in it’s shield and reached out with his right hand, clasping hers tightly. 

He felt the tight pulling sensation of her semblance activating on them both, or rather of her pulling him into it. The world blurred together and a second later they touched down on the next roof, his knee impacting the hard tiles as he struggled out of the disorientating sensation. A flash of red and he almost panicked but for a silvery slash the bisected the creature that had tried to pounce on him. Wasting no breath he leapt to his feet with a nod to her. 

They continued roof to roof for a few minutes dealing with the handful of Grimm that attacked them on the roof and others that attempted to climb up after them. They skidded to a halt at the town square. Jaune looked around, there was a main street next to them and the distance across was the farthest they would have had to jump yet and Ruby looked exhausted, a sheen of sweat across her forehead as she took in air but tried not to breathe too heavily. 

Jaune slowly realized they’d backed themselves into a corner, the only way to another roof was back the way they came but already he could see the creatures scrambling across the tops of the buildings they had taken to get her. His eyes met hers and she let out a small smile at him.

“I can make it, Ja-” 

Ruby was interrupted as a large shadow crashed into her, tearing her from the rooftop. The two figures rolled into the town square and Jaune screamed her name as he leapt down from the roof, sinking his blade into the skeletal Grimm he landed on. Tearing his sword free he ran towards his friend who was struggling to keep out of reach of the large Grimm attacking her. He severed a hand at the wrist as it clamped down on his ankle, breaking free and rushing towards his friend. 

“Ruby you okay?” He ran to a stop between her and the large Grimm, his shield up and his eyes steady on it. It wasn’t a species he’d seen before. It stood watching them, a good distance away. It had large pointed ears sticking straight up and a bat-like snout covered in the signature Grimm bone plates. It’s forearms trailed to the ground and were thick with rippling muscle while it’s back legs were thinner. Some kind of thin material stretched between it’s forearms and body.

It struck him that he could hear the sound of his own breathing and he looked around. Edging into the town square were the hundreds of Gimm-villagers silently watching. Ruby had noticed too, regarding the horde that formed a ring around them but didn’t approach beyond a certain distance. 

The large Grimm cocked it’s head to one side as if considering them and Jaune felt his blood run cold, a bad feeling pooling in the bottom of his stomach. 

“Ruby… I think it’s an intelligent Grimm.”

“I’m afraid so.” They shared a brief meeting of eyes as she walked up to stand besides him. They noticed it move as it reared up and let out an inhuman bellow. 

The world exploded into action.

At once the horde broke like a damn, converging on them, while the large, bat-like Grimm followed in after the smaller ones. In a flash Jaune whirled around to guard Ruby’s back and cut down the closest of the horde but it wasn’t enough, it wouldn’t be. The pressed in like a wall made of snarling mouths and grabbing hands. His heart leapt to his throat as he felt something wrap about his waist but a quick look down showed it was Ruby’s arm. 

Again he felt the familiar sensation of her semblance and he poured his into her in a panic, boosting it to the limit. The world fell away in a blur and before he knew it they were on top of a building on the other side of the square. The speed was too great, however, and they slammed into the roof, rolling a few feet before sliding to a stop. Several heavy thumps sounded as several more of the bat-like Grimm landed next to them. Both held a scarlet gaze that suggested a higher intelligence than most Grimm and the pair that had landed advanced cautiously. 

Each one paired off and rushed at Ruby and Jaune individually. Jaune’s Grimm barreled in with a double hammer fist that smashed a hole in the roof, raining tiles into the room below. He ducked the swipe with a yelp, the strike brushing by his hair. It also gave him a good look at the long, vicious claws extending from the monster’s digits. 

Jaune’s upwards thrust into the creature’s chest was stopped short by the other clawed hand as it gripped his sword. He could almost see it’s victorious smirk but he didn’t let go of Crocea Mors, instead he brought his shield up and drove it’s edge into its snout causing it to reel back, having it’s massive, clawed hand in front of it to ward off a follow up. It glared at him in rage before charging in again. 

The lunge he took on his shield, not blocking it but deflecting it away from his body. With his other hand he thrust forward with Crocea Mors, aiming for it’s eye. He missed, his tip scoring across the bone plate, leaving a deep gouge but not deep enough to do any damage. Jaune’s eyes went wide as his heart skipped a beat. The creature’s hand closed in around his sword hand, claws digging into his aura. The shield came about and he intended to slam into the arm holding him only to have that stop too, the other hand gripping the edge of his shield. The large creature tackled him, pinning the shield to his chest with all its weight and slamming his sword hand to the tiles of the roof. 

Jaune struggled to draw a breath as he stared the creature in the eyes. It’s maw opened showing enormous fangs as it did so. He felt his aura dip as the beast’s head came down on his shoulder, the fangs threatening to pierce into the area between his neck and shoulder. 

“Ruby!” he shouted, looking frantically for her red cape. 

“Jaune hang on, I’ll be there in a second!” The red cape flitted back and forth trying to get around the other Grimm. He felt the pressure increase on his shoulder. 

“Ruby! I need you to do something for me.” Silver eyes met blue for a brief second, “I need you to get out of here. I.. I don’t think I’m gonna get out of here.”

There was the sound of a few discharged dust rounds, “Don’t you dare Jaune! We’re gonna get out of here. I’m gonna get you back to yang!”

“Ruby go! Now!”

“No!” she screamed back at him.

That was when he felt his aura give out and the fangs sank into his flesh causing a white hot burning pain in his shoulder that started spreading. He wanted to scream but could draw enough breath and instead let out a strangled gurgle. 

“Jaune? Jaune I’m coming!”

He couldn’t tell her to stay away as the Grimm dug it’s fangs in deeper. The fire in his shoulder grew each time the creature moved. Jaune could feel his warm blood seeping down his shoulder to pool around his back.

“Jaune!” Suddenly there was a brief flash of light, bright and white light that blotted out everything, causing his vision to swirl with dark spots. Jaune gasped as the Grimm tore it’s fangs free of his shoulder, now doubt doing even more damage in the process. He rolled over but couldn’t get any strength into his arms to get up, instead he collapsed back onto his stomach. As his vision swam he spotted the two Grimm rubbing their massive hands over their faces and backing off warily. 

Ruby was next to him in an instant, lifting him up and supporting him. He could feel his blood running down his arm and dripping to the shingles below them. The Grimm started snarling and pacing, splitting up to flank the two of them. His friend gripped his arm tighter around her shoulder. A third figure landed directly in front of them but this one was one they recognized.

“Uncle Qrow!” 

“Sorry I’m late kids.” His massive sword was out and he glanced back, pale red eyes taking in their state, “Thanks for the lightshow squirt. Might not’ve found you, otherwise.”

“Jaune’s injured! I… I don’t think he’s doing good.”

“It’ll be okay Ruby.” He turned back to the Grimm. There was a howl and the horde that had been unusually still during their fight leapt into action once again. The small Grimm scrambling up the sides of the building and the first of the bat-like Grimm from before soar into the air above them, it’s large leathery wings bearing it on the night sky. 

A swirling red and black portal opened up to their right and Qrow looked back at the two of them, “Get through kids! We need to leave, now!”

Neither of them needed any more prodding as they headed towards Raven’s portal. The warmth was what hit them first and then the light. The warmth didn’t last, however, as it drained from his body with his blood. 

Jaune noticed a shock of blonde hair as Yang swept up to him, concern and shock evident on her face. She had to fight Nora to be the first one there though they both back off when Ren told them he needed space. His friend came over with several towels he’d pulled from somewhere and was trying to staunch the bleeding. The sound of the portal stopped and Qrow stepped into his vision, his face close. He couldn’t really hear what they were saying anymore, his vision dimming.

As his eyes closed he barely felt being laid down on the floor.


	29. Not So Alone in the City

Ruby felt the crushing hug of Yang after they had stepped through the portal, it swirling to a close and winking out of existence. 

“Ruby what happened? Are you okay?! What happened to Jaune?!”

The younger sister pushed her back to arms length as she fought to take a breath, “Grimm. Lot’s of Grimm. And…” She looked to her unconscious friend, bleeding on the hardwood floor, Ren staunching the flow with some towels and pressure, “Jaune was hurt by some Grimm I’ve never seen before. I’m so sorry, Yang!” 

No longer in danger her legs gave out with the relief of being safe. Her sister caught her and slowly the two settled down on the floor, Yang holding Ruby as she began crying. She could feel the blonde’s hands start rubbing her head as her shoulders shook. 

“I’ll call a doctor I know. She can help.” The voice came from their host and caused Ruby to look up at the woman and catch her breath for a moment. The similarities were so stark and obvious she would have believed it was her friend had it not been for the difference in age. The woman had scarlet hair with brilliant emerald eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses.

“It’s the least I owe to my daughter’s partner.” She turned to Ruby and inclined her head, “I wish it were under better circumstances but it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Phyllis Nikos.”

_ A single, golden eye glowed in the dark as Ruby felt a searing heat wash over her. She panted, heart pounding in her chest as she felt the cold claws of fear seize her.  _

_ “I will destroy everything you hold dear.” A silky voice came out in a whisper next to her ear, “You will never be free of me.” _

Ruby’s eyes snapped open as she gasped for air she looked around and took in the room she was in. The young girl had fallen asleep in the chair next to the bed, her sister’s blonde hair was splayed out on it as Yang slept next to the bed in a similar chair to hers, hands clasped tightly to Jaune’s as he lay in the bed, unconscious. 

His breathing was still labored, the white bandages around his shoulder stained with blood. Again a painful feeling wormed its way into her gut when she looked at it. Ruby’s hand moved to her chest, feeling her heart pound in her chest, the last vestiges of her nightmare fading away. Her head sank into her hands as she closed her eyes, Cinder’s face lingering in the back of her mind. 

When she opened them again her eyes trailed back to her friend and his wound. Jaune still hadn’t woken up since they’d been rescued. Ruby shivered as she remembered those Grimm, even Crescent Rose had hardly scratched them. Even her Uncle Qrow hadn’t heard of these Grimm, wouldn’t have believed them if he hadn’t been there himself.

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts away, Ruby linked her hands above her head and stretched to try and wake herself up more. Checking her scroll she noticed it was in the early hours of morning, still before sunrise. Getting up she moved to Jaune’s other side, the one not occupied by her sister. With a dry rag she wicked away the sweat accumulated on his forehead before untying his bandages. Of course she was worried, the wound wasn’t healing, and she’d been horrified to see the gash left by the beast’s fangs. 

Ruby yelped when she finally undid the last of the bandages and pulled back the pad to reveal a dark, black, ugly growth inside the wound.

“Ruby?” Yang’s head shot upward and his sleep-addled mind could be seen processing what her sister was staring at. The blonde struggled to get up and look at what her younger sister was staring at, “What the hell is that?! An infection?”

“We should call the doctor.” Ruby cast a worried look to her sister.

It didn’t take more than an hour for the private doctor to make a house call, all expenses paid for by their host. The middle aged woman looked over Jaune’s wound carefully, huffing at the teenagers who crowded around her, eventually she kicked them out and they had to wait for the woman to emerge from there.

“Enough! If you won’t let me speak I won’t tell you!” She levelled a glare at the unrepentant team members before turning to the woman who was hosting them, “Miss Nikos I’m afraid that this is out of my area of expertise. I’ve been a doctor for nearly thirty years and never have I seen something like this.”

The other woman, their host, nodded, her short hair bobbing with the motion as she adjusted the glasses on her nose. According to Yang they had met Pyrrha’s mother while they were running around town looking for a place to stay and had come across a large statue of Pyrrha. Ruby figured the girl would be mortified at having such a large monument made in her name. The story had caused her to smile bitterly at the time. 

“Like what, Doctor Violet?”

The medical professional sighed, “It seems that a Grimm parasite has attached itself to the boy’s nervous system. As far as I can tell the Grimm is growing but being combated by his aura, as long as it lasts, he won’t die. But eventually he will run out of aura, and when he does, the parasite will most likely kill him.”

There was a thumping sound as Yang’s knees impacted the floor, a vacant, shocked look upon her face. Nora grabbed onto Ren’s arm and buried her face in his shoulder. 

“A Tyrant.” Heads turned to the speaker, the older woman known as Maria, “I encountered them ages ago, when I was a huntress. I’ve seen similar wounds before. The Tyrant is a particularly nasty Grimm. It’s quite intelligent, you see, and has a unique ability. It’s bites leave a parasite in it’s victims, which grows and consumes the host, leaving the body to become a puppet. We hunted them to extinction, or so we thought.”

“I see.” The doctor replied, hand coming up to her chin in thought, “Did any live who were bitten before.”

Maria put both hands on her cane, “A few.”

The Doctor Violet perked up at that, “How? What treatment was used?”

The older woman looked in thought and no one dared disturb her, “I’m afraid that treatment is quite impossible nowadays. Not unless you have a way of disintegrating the Grimm instantly.”

“Can’t we just kill it?” Yang spoke up from the floor.

It was the doctor that vetoed the idea, “We can’t. I tried to take a sample of it but when the scalpel cut into the Grimm-flesh it started causing him pain. I’d say it’s tied too much into his nervous system. Unless we can instantly remove it, it would kill him if we tried.”

“We have to do something!” Yang’s fist slammed into the floor, cracking it, though Phyllis didn’t seem to mind the damage to her floor. 

“Calm down girl.” Maria rebuked, “Getting angry at the floor won’t do anything.”

Yang glared at the old woman but it quickly faded as she slumped even further down. Blake crouched down next to her partner and simply held the woman, the blond clutching at her clothes, hugging back. The cat faunus looked perplexed as she hesitantly brought a hand up and rubbed her partner's head, she seemed out of her depth. 

Silver eyes tracked over to the door that Jaune was resting in, her heart clenching and stomach twisting about. Jaune was her friend, no, more than that. She loved him, the thought of him not surviving brought with it a sense of dread.

_ There has to be something I can do. _

* * *

  
  


When Jaune opened his eyes all he could see was a blurry room until his eyes adjusted to the lamps in the room. A sharp pain lanced through his shoulder as he tried to move and his left hand wouldn’t budge when he tried to lift it up to inspect his right shoulder. When he looked down he saw the hand was swamped under blonde hair, when his hand twitched he could feel the dampness on it. 

“Yang?” 

She must have heard his voice, slight though it was, for she stirred and blearily looked up and him, his hand still gripped tightly in hers. Her lilac orbs were ringed with red and Jaune realized she must have been crying. His heart broke in two to see the woman he cared about in such a state and knowing that it was his fault.

“Jaune?” One hand remained latched onto his as the other came up and rubbed her eyes, “Jaune!” She leapt to her feet but froze as she was about to pounce on him, a glance down to his shoulder showed him why she had stopped. With a chuckle he held open his good arm. Carefully, she slid into his grasp, tightening her arms around his torso. He pretended not to hear her whispered thanks to the gods.

“What-” He stopped, his voice creaking from not being used for so long, it felt dry and craggy and he tried to clear it. Noticing him Yang quickly grabbed a glass of water from a nightstand, it looked like she’d been sipping on it but he wasn’t going to be picky. Giving up on grasping it for himself he felt heat creep up his cheeks as he let her hold it for him. Jaune tried speaking once again, “What happened? Where are we?”

As she set the glass back down on the nightstand a look of apprehension crossed her face, “The thing that attacked you in that village. It’s called a Tyrant. Supposed to be some nasty Grimm that creates something called Ghouls out of corpses.” Jaune shuddered, remembering the fetid breath of the creature as it pinned him down, “As for where, heh, you’ll never believe it.”

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

“The Nikos Estate in Argus.” A tired but smug smile crested her face.

“What?!” Jaune tried to sit up but pain once again lanced through his shoulder as he was forced to lay back down, his girlfriend’s hand firmly keeping him flat in the bed, “As in Pyrrha’s place?”

“Yup. Cereal’s Mom herself took us in. Crazy coincidence meeting her when we got here.”

Jaune wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what he  _ should  _ say. What do you say to the mother of your dead partner? Sorry? Did the woman hate him for not being able to help Pyrrha? Both of Yang’s hands found his, her fingers curling around his as she smiled weakly at him. He tried to smile back but it felt brittle and hollow. It wasn’t just just the news they were being put up by Pyrrha’s mother but something else was making him tired. He felt exhausted, lethargic. Like he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep forever. The pain in his shoulder had subsided to a dull throb and he decided it was best to put aside the subject of Missus Nikos and focused on his injury. His hand was slapped away as he tried to prod at it and he wilted under Yang’s glare.

“Don’t touch it.”

“But-”

“Don’t.” She growled, eyes turning crimson for a split second before disappearing into her normal lilac ones, “It’s not pretty. That Grimm…. The Tyrant…. Did something to you.”

A note of panic shot through his chest as an icy feeling settled in his stomach, “Did what?” His voice wavered and it didn’t help when she grimaced, her gaze flicking to his injury and back to his eyes. 

“You’re not gonna like it.”

She was right. He didn’t like it.

* * *

  
  


Yang closed the door behind her as she left, resisting the urge to cry once again. It had been difficult to break the news to him and hadn’t been able to tell him it would most likely kill him. The look on Jaune’s face, realizing there was something Grimm inside him, that there was nothing that could be done about it. Yes she was still lying to him and the thought of what he would think of her for keeping the last bit of information from him had her heart clenching in her chest. She told herself that it was only because it wasn’t absolutely certain that it  _ would  _ kill him, that there was still hope and she didn’t want him to give in to despair.

She didn’t really believe herself.

Yang felt like she could be forgiven for not noticing that Raven was stood outside the room, she wouldn’t call her mother, her back against the wall and arms folded.

Yang levelled her glare at her egg donor, “What are you doing here?” 

Raven regarded her for a moment, as if debating whether she should answer or not, “That boy saved a tribe member. This is the least I can do.”

Was she showing support for Jaune? Yang shook her head, she couldn’t understand this woman, “What makes you care so much?”

“I already told you.”

Yang opened her mouth to retort but closed it again. She shouldn’t waste her time on this woman. With a huff and a shake of the head she moved away to go find her uncle and try and come up with a plan to help Jaune. There had to be something.

* * *

  
  


As Raven watched her daughter move away in anger another, voice, firm but quiet, spoke up from her side. Reproachful silver eyes held her and she was once again reminded of her school days as she looked at Summer’s child.

“Do you  _ have  _ to act that way?” Ruby said as she crossed her arms and attempted to look cross with her, Summer had never been much better at looking angry either. When Raven merely raised an eyebrow at her the young girl rolled her eyes, “I may be naive but I’m not stupid, Aunt Raven.” She almost flinched at the title the girl had given her, “I’ve seen the way you look at Yang when you think no one’s looking yet every time you speak you try to piss her off.”

“You must be mistaken.”

Ruby’s deadpan stare said she didn’t buy it, and Raven could admit it wasn’t her best deflection but she wasn’t used to being caught out like this. Normally people were chomping at the bit to lump her into the selfish and arrogant category and she let them, made it easier to trick them. She’d never been good at hiding anything from Summer and it looked like her offspring had the same talent for seeing through people that her mother had.

“You’re just like your Mother.”

Ruby smirked at her, pleased with what she saw as a compliment, Raven held no compunction of dashing it a moment later. “It’s going to kill you.”

She looked like she’d been slapped, her eyes wide, “What?” Her voice was a whisper.

“You’re not just naive. You have your mother’s compulsion to be a hero. You’d throw yourself in front of a bullet if it saved an innocent. Both of you won’t give a second thought to those you’d leave behind on your suicidal quest to save everyone.” She was starting to show more emotion than the girl had yet seen on her face. Color came to her pale face as she got worked up, the feelings she had in the years since her old partner had died coming to the surface once again. She’d had to face this young girl, the spitting image of Summer, over and over again since she’d rejoined Ospin’s little group. But she couldn’t stop these feelings that finally needed to be let out.

“I may have left Yang but at least I’m still alive to look out for her.” Ruby recoiled, “Yang is strong enough to stand on her own, she had Tai and Summer and then you. What do you think will happen to her if you get killed?” The young girl shrank in on herself, “You want my advice?” Silver eyes looked out from under her brow, the Rose genes were strong in her and that damnable kicked puppy face, “Save the people you can reach, but more importantly stay alive for the ones you love.”

Ruby cast her face down and her hands gripped her cloak around her tightly and Raven pushed off the wall, walking down the corridor. She paused and took a look back at the young girl who was now trying her hardest not to tear up, her stomach clenched at the sight and she silently wished she could offer some words of comfort to the girl. Instead she begged Summer’s forgiveness and put the final nail in the coffin.

“If you stay on the path you are on, you will die like so many so called heroes before you.”

Raven hated herself but was used to the feeling. It wasn’t anything new since she’d left Yang with her father and would be something she would continue to live with. The girl really was too much like her dear friend and it would have been so easy to love the girl but she had to keep her away from the truth, it was better that way. 

Now if only she could stop that feeling in her stomach.

* * *

  
  


Private Tucker stood on the wall of Argus, his shift on duty nearly over as the city started to fall into it’s nighttime routine. He was glad their armor came with loads of temperature control as his breath crystallized in the cool air. 

“I’ll be so glad to get off this fuckin’ wall.” His partner uttered from beside him, “My nose is freezing.”

“So you’ve said. For the last. Five. Hours.”

“That’s ‘cause it’s true.”

“Five. Hours.”

“ _ This is Control, all sectors, check in.”  _

They waited their turn in silence, listening to all the other sectors call in. One be one they answered until it got to them, “Sector S-15, all clear.” His partner, Private Church, called into his radio. 

“It’s fuckin’ cold.” His partner said after a few minutes of silence.

“Will you shut the fuck up, Church?!” After a moment of silence, “THANK YOU.” 

When he turned to look at Church he paused, a large black and white figure stood behind the man, one clawed hand pushed through the soldier’s chest. Crimson stained the ground as the man looked his partner in the eyes. In a panic Tucker made to grab his radio but found he couldn’t speak into the receiver. His neck burned and he could feel a wet sensation slide down both the inside and outside of his throat. He tried to take a breath but swallowed only warm liquid and it dawned on him that it was blood, the copper taste filling his nostrils and mouth as he struggled to breath around his own lifesource. 

His diaphragm started seizing as it attempted to expel the substance from his lungs, only causing more to fill them and a dark crimson to spill out and join his partner’s on the ground. As he grasped at his throat futilely his legs buckled but didn’t fall to the ground on the account of the claws that had lodged themselves in his back. 

As his eyes closed, the cold setting in, the last thing he was was the blood red eyes, full of hate, attached to a bat-like head and long, sharp fangs.


	30. The Blood of Patriots and Tyrants

Ruby slipped into Jaune’s room, still thinking on what Raven had just said to her, thoughts in turmoil. Her heart soared, however, when she saw him up and awake, his sapphire focused on her. When their eyes met, his almost immediately diverted downward. 

“Hey Ruby.” He said and she could feel the awkwardness. Ruby knew why, how could she not? Even now her eyes were drawn to his lips, the memory of kissing him still fresh with her. 

“Hey Jaune. How are you feeling?” 

“Worse than I look, probably.” He chuckled bitterly. There were dark bags under his eyes and he looked at her with a strained tiredness to him. 

“You look fine.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Never play poker Ruby.”

Ruby sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, “I’m not  _ that  _ bad….. Am I?”

Juane put his left hand, his good one, on her shoulder, “I’m sorry Ruby. It’s a lost cause.”

Ruby’s hand flew to her mouth in mock shock, “How could you!” She was able to hold it for all of a half second before descending into chuckles, even getting a few out of Jaune before he winced.

“Ah man, it hurts to laugh.” Before he added on when she grew concerned, “But thanks Ruby.” 

He threw a tired but honest smile her way and she felt her heart flutter, that strange feeling in her stomach returning, foreign but not unpleasant. She really like Jaune and the more she thought about it the more she realized that she couldn’t go back to the days at Beacon where they’d been just friends. Even if she decided to give up, as long as they were around each other her feelings would keep resurfacing, and causing her pain as she realized that they couldn’t be together. 

“Eh. What are friends for.” She could feel her nerves at the contact point of this hand on her shoulder, she could even feel his touch linger for a moment before he took his hand back. She took a moment to take a deep breath, steadying herself. Ruby wasn’t sure what, exactly, was going to happen next, “I’m sorry Jaune.”

Jaune’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, “For what?”

“For before.” She hands played with the hem of her cape, she could feel her heart rate rising, “In the village….”

“The village?”

Ruby grew exasperated, “When I kissed you!” She nearly shouted and immediately looked around to make sure no one had heard her. 

“Ah.” Was all he said and looked down at his lap, “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Yang’s your girlfriend. And I shouldn’t have done that, no matter how much I..” She stopped but it was too late, Jaune would have to have been the most dense person on Remnant not to put two and two together. Ruby could have played it off as a spur of the moment thing, a good luck charm or something like she’d claimed at the time. But that wasn’t what it was.

Ruby had seen the tidal wave of Grimm in that village. She’d known what their chances should have been of getting out of there alive. She’d kissed him fully expecting one or both of them to die that night. She’d kissed him because she was sixteen years old and didn’t want to die with that kind of regret. She liked Jaune, no she loved him. He may not have known it but he was dear to here in so many ways. Her first friend at Beacon, a person who stood beside her even in his grief. 

“No matter how much I like you.” She finished eventually, head hung low with her cloak in her hands. Ruby braced for his response.

“Oh.” He let out dumbly and she felt like she could have collapsed from the sudden lack of tension. When she peaked at him from the corner of her eye it was to find him looking at her with concern tempered with shock. Jaune’s mouth opened and closed but no sound was forthcoming until he took a deep breath, “I see, I guess. You, uh,  _ like  _ me?”

She rolled her eyes at the emphasis on the word like, “Yes, Jaune, I love you.”

Ruby caught the way he stiffened, his cheeks going red from embarrassment, “Not even Yang has said that.”

“Oh.” Was all Ruby could replay with. Suddenly she could only think of how much this would hurt her sister, if she found out. She had to make things clear, “Look I don’t wanna get in the way. I know I just confessed and all but do you think you could forget all about it?” 

His warm hand rested over hers, making her nearly jump at the contact, “Ruby, I don’t think-”

His voice was drowned out by a klaxon resounding throughout the sighty. The long keening sound echoing off the walls and drowning everything out before cutting off abruptly, a click sounding before a voice boomed over the city.

“ **Citizens of Argus, this is Special Operative Cordovan, commander of the Argus Garrison For your safety, please remain in your homes, there is currently a Grimm threat within the city. Do not worry. Do not panic. Atlas will protect you.”**

With a clack the transmission cut off and the klaxons resumed their wail. Jaune’s room was on the second story of the four story mansion located within Argus. Ruby leapt over to the window just as Yang barged through the door. Outside she could see people running off the streets but no Grimm until she looked into the sky. It was hard to make out during low light of dusk but she could see Griffons and Manticores soaring through the sky, diving down at the people below. 

The guns on the wall remained silent, the giant anti-air cannons motionless, “No one on the wall is firing?”

Yang came up and looked out beside her sister, “Maybe they’ve been overrun already?”

“Then why is the alarm only sounding now?”

“The only way that happened is if the soldiers on the wall were overrun before they could sound the alarm.” Jaune was the one who spoke up. Both the girls looked at him.

“But how? No Grimm is capable of strategy like that.”

“No, there is one.” Ruby said, slamming her fist into her upturned palm, “The Tyrant. Maria said it was smarter than most Grimm.”

“But don’t most smart Grimm stay away from cities? That’s what Oobleck said.”

“That’s because they have a reason to be here.” A new voice spoke up from the doorway and the old lady’s small form shambled into Jaune’s room, “They might be trying to finish what they started.” She glanced over at Jaune who self consciously put a hand over his wound, and the black parasite. 

“It’s coming for me?” Jaune asked, his voice cracking.

Maria shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe. We never did find out much about the Tyrant’s as we hunted them though we do know that they can sense through the parasite. The hoste and the Tyrant that bit them are connected somehow.”

“The Grimm can sense through Jaune?” Maria nodded and Yang’s hand went to her hip where a gold and blue lantern hung, “Then do you think it senses the Relic?”

“It’s as good a theory as any.” Maria shambled over to Jaune, “Boy, how are you feeling?”

He looked at her, confused, “What do you mean?”

“Your bite. How’s it feel? Like I said the parasite connects you to the Tyrant and gives it influence over the parasite. Have you noticed any changes?”

“Uh yeah.” Ruby’s eyes widened, why hadn’t he said something to her? “I started to feel a bit more pain, like a throbbing pain.”

Maria’s hand came up to her chin, “Tch. Damn, if I hadn’t lost my eyes I’d have been able to fix you up.”

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.

“Hm? I had silver eyes. I could’ve erased this parasite in a flash. Not that you believe me.”

“Silver….eyes?” The brunette could hardly believe what she was hearing, “Like mine?”

Maria stopped, her head jerking around to stare at the young huntress, her mechanical eyes going wide, “Curse these eyes of mine, I wish I’d have known sooner!” The elderly woman hobbled up to Ruby and peered into her face, “You want to save your friend?” Ruby nodded frantically, “Good. Listen, the key to activating the power within you is life. Life is precious, it must be protected, understand?”

“Think of your friends, your loved ones. Don’t think about the Grimm. Concentrate on who you must protect.” Ruby closed her eyes and focused on what she was told. Her friends, Weiss, Blake, Oscar. She could feel a pressure building up within her, hammering away behind her eyes, almost like a headache. She thought of her family, her father and sister. Ruby felt like she could do it. Save them. A strange thought interfered. Pyrrha, whom she had failed. The pressure lessened. Her mother appeared before her and shattered her concentration.

Ruby hadn’t had such powerful thoughts about her mother in years. Of course she missed her, but she had to move one. Her mother was her hero, a kind woman who helped others. She knew Summer wasn’t around anymore, and she knew why. That’s why she was determined to do better. To save everyone and live to have a family whom she loved and loved her. 

Hands touched either of her cheeks, it was Maria, “Shh child. Push all other thoughts from your mind. Focus on the ones who love you, the way they make you feel.”

The pressure began to build again as she thought of her partner. Weiss, a girl who seemed cold at first but was incredibly warm and loyal once she thawed. Now they were close, sisters almost, a far cry from when they’d first met. Blake, the most distant of her teammates at first, had struggled with opening up to them. She had her issues but had chosen to trust her tea, chosen to come back to them. The friends she’d found in Ren and Nora.

Lastly she thought of Jaune. A friend who had extended his hand to a stranger in need and they’d formed a fast friendship. Two awkward people being awkward together. Ruby had found comfort in knowing she wasn’t the only one who didn’t have everything together. If it wasn’t for him she’d have never been friends with the rest of team JNPR either. And since then he’d grown in her heart without her noticing. She’d watched him struggle and watched him start to overcome his grief. She watched how every time he got knocked down he rose once more and before she knew it she found she was attracted to him. She wanted to help him.

The pounding in her eyes crashed against her eyes, begging to be let out.

She wanted to protect him.

“Argh!” 

Her concentration shattered again with the loud sound of pain coming from Jaune. He started screaming, gripping his shoulder as her eyes snapped open, naked concern on her face. 

“Jaune!” The two sisters called out in unison as they rushed to his side. He continued thrashing about, not even reacting to either of them. Jaune collapsed, still, a moment later. Maria opened one of his closed eyes.

“Looks like he passed out.”

“What the hell is happening?!” Yang sounded a little hysterical, probably remembering that Jaune was on borrowed time. 

“Relax, kid. The pain was just too much.” She paused as they heard a horrendous crash upstairs, “Looks like time’s up. The Tyrants are here.”

Yang’s eyes went from lilac to crims and Ember Celica slid into place on her wrists, “Good.” She flinched when Maria rapped her cane on her shin.

“Cool off, you hothead. A single Tyrant’s like nothing you’ve faced before. They’re smarter than you think. A cabal of them is beyond you. Maybe your maiden mother might be able to but with all these other Grimm around? Not a chance.”

“What about my eyes?”

Maria hesitated before shaking her head, “Your eyes only react in the presence of Grimm and you’re too new to them. I won’t put you in that kind of situation.” 

“But I could help. The Grimm are here because of us! We have to do something.”

“And what happens when one cuts you down because you couldn’t activate your power, hmm?”

Just as Ruby opened her mouth to say more their door opened once again, admitting a serious faced Qrow with everyone else in tow.

“Gather your gear. We’ve gotta fight.”

“Are you all planning on facing down an army of Grimm?”

He looked over at Maria, “The Grimm are here regardless. So unless you have a better plan I’m not gonna sit here doing nothing.”

“The Grimm are here for that.” She pointed at the relic on Yang’s hip, “If we leave so will the Grim. I believe they are under the command of the Tyrants. If we leave, they will follow us.”

“What makes you think the Grimm will follow, there’s plenty of negativity here in Argus now.”

“Maybe so but the Tyrant’s can feel the Relic. And there’s a reason we call them Tyrants. They tend to control or take command of other Grimm. If they come after us, so will most if not all of their minions.”

“What makes you so sure, Grandma?”

Exasperated, Maria shook her cane at him, “Because I’m the Grimm Reaper and have more experience fighting Grimm than you’ve been alive!”

“Wait,  _ you’re  _ the Grimm Reaper?!” Even Raven looked shocked.

“You can ask me questions later. Pick your jaw up off the floor and get moving. We need to leave now!”

“Okay, okay fine. We need transportation. Maybe we can get a boat.”

“Stealing?” Weiss didn’t sound impressed.

“Spare me, mini-Ice Queen.”

“That base has plenty of airships.” Raven finally contributed to the conversation, “I could go and acquire one and portal you to me. Though I need someone to fly it.”

“I can fly an airship.” Maria answered though one other person did raise their hand. Neo stepped forward and pointed to herself proudly.

“I’ll take the colorful one.” Raven answered. Neo bowed and extended her hand towards Raven who tentatively took it and a second later they both shattered into glass, gone. 

Another crashing sound came from above them, closer this time.

“The hell?” Qrow looked up, one hand on his weapon.

“Grimm in the house. Trying to find their way down here.” Maria answered, “What about the house owner?”

“As soon as the alarm sounded she went to the panic room. She’ll be fine.” Qrow answered. All that left was Jaune and Maria as those who couldn’t defend themselves. Everyone fell silent, the sounds of battle drifting in past the closed window. Explosions rattled the glass in the sill while the screams of those unlucky enough to be caught outside pierced the quickly descending night. The crashing and thumping grew louder until it was coming from the stairwell. Ren crouched in the hallways, Stormflower held out in front and aimed down the hall while Nora took up behind him, Magnhild in grenade launcher form. As soon as the black and white form of the Tyrant stuck it’s head around the corner, it exploded into a pink dust explosion. 

A sudden sound behind them had Ruby turning around as a red and black portal oozed into life. Qrow ushered everyone into and they were hit by the fierce bite of the cold outside air. The hum of engines thrumming loudly into their ears. Neo was standing at the top of the short embarkation ramp onto the airship dressed in an Atlesian uniform. As she bowed the uniform changed back into her usual attire. 

Raven rolled her eyes, “Get on and quit gawking.” 

Nora and Ren brough Jaune up the ramp together, first. Ruby looked at the sky, the city of Argus sitting in close. Her instincts screamed at her to go back but she knew that would only bring more Grimm from the surroundings. Silhouetted against the shattered moon rose a group of flapping figures, above the rest of them. When she ascended the ramp she found Maria in the pilot seat and Neo next to her. 

The engines rose in pitch as the vehicle lifted off into the air, “Alright everyone, buckle up! This might get rough! Next stop Atlas!”

Ruby was nearly thrown from her feet as the ship rocketed off towards the sea. And then nearly thrown again as the ship jerked around again.

“Are you sure you know how to fly, Grandma?”

“I know how to fly, but I’m not stupid enough to fly through  _ that.”  _ She pointed outside the front viewport. There they could see the rapidly approaching cloud of Grimm surround the massive form of some Grimm rising up out of the ocean. The Leviathan Grimm opened it’s maw, a glow forming in the back of it’s through and Maria threw the ship into a dive as a massive beam of energy ripped through the air where they had been mere moments ago. 

“Seriously? How unlucky can we get?” Nora shouted from the back

“Very.” Both Raven and Qrow answered in unison. 

An answering beam of energy lanced out from behind them and struck the Grimm in it’s shoulder, causing it to rear back.

“ **How dare you threaten the citizens under our protection! Feel the might of Atlas!”**

Behind them waded a massive robot, the water only coming halfway up it’s enormous shins. The chamber on its arm cycled and something popped out, rockets firing out in a mighty salvo, destroying dozens of the flying Grimm. As the two titans clashed with one another, dozens of Manticores dove down at them making Maria do a series of complex maneuvers. Yang flung herself over Jaune to keep him steady in the harness they had strapped him into. 

The airship shook as something impacted the fuselage, a loud scraping sound resonating throughout the hull. Then a thumping sound could be heard heading towards the back of the ship. Ruby’s blood froze as she realized what it was. So did the others because everyone had a pale face. 

There was a Grimm attached to the ship.

Ruby felt her body move almost on its own, her fear died down as she chose a course of action and decided to act. She pulled the hand of the door and the intense wind filled the interior of the airship. It tugged at her cape as the others started shouting at her.

“Ruby what are you doing?!” Her partner asked. She turned around and gave Weiss a grin that was more confident than she felt.

“I’m gonna need you to cover me Weiss.” 

Ruby stepped out of the airship, spreading herself wide to slow down her descent, her grip tightened on Crescent Rose. A blur of white hurtled into her vision, Weiss’ Queen Lancer swooped in and caught her mid-air. Using a hand to stabilize herself on it’s back they flew back up to the ship and she saw the fierce scowl on her partner’s face. Wincing a little she pointed up and got a nod in return. That was her partner alright, they were really understanding each other now.

As she flew level with the top of the airship she finally got a full glimpse of the Grimm clinging to the roof of their vehicle. It was a Tyrant, it’s powerful claws dug deep into the fuselage slowly dragging it’s claws out and making it’s way towards the engines. Ruby summoned her semblance and burst forth onto the top of the airship with the Grimm where she immediately started slipping backwards. The airship’s speed slowed down dramatically and a black glyph appeared beneath her feet.

The Tyrant faced her, recognizing the threat she posed, and used it’s hind claws to stabilize itself as it tore it’s forearms free to deal with her. Trusting Weiss’ glyph to keep her glued to the airship, Ruby ran at the Grimm. She feinted a high slash into a low sweep. The claws met her blade and stopped it as it’s other arm blocked her slash. It had seen through her. She felt she could almost see the intellect in its eyes. 

The thing was fast, that much she was reminded of as it blocked her repeated slashed. It wasn’t fast enough to catch her off guard but its swipes her getting closer. Anyone slower might have been overwhelmed but Ruby used her semblance to gain distance when she could. A fireball whizzed past her head and she spied a few Manticores keeping distance as they started taking potshots at her. A blast of fire dust sped out their ship and exterminated one of the manticores followed by a barrage from her friends. With those threats gone, they annihilated any Grimm attempting to get close to them. 

The Tyrant was on her in her moment of distraction, its massive hand coming down on top of her. Crescent Rose blocked the strike but her aura dipped a little anyways as her knee slammed into the metal roof. The creature drew it’s other arm back to impale her and she realized she had to do something. It all happened in a slow instant, she took her right hand off of Crescent Rose and gripped Rose Thorn on her thigh. With a flick of a switch it started unfolding as she drew it. In a swift slice she bisected both of the creature’s hind legs. 

The Grimm must not have expected it because in a gust of wind it was gone, falling to the water below. As she stood she saw something that nearly stopped her heart. Three more Tyrants were gaining on them, close enough she could make out the face of the closest one. On the boneplate mounted on its face was a long, diagonal scratch. With that one look she knew, that was the one that had bit Jaune, and now it was back, here to finish what it had started.

No, she wouldn’t let it. No more. Not a single one of her friends would die from here on out. Ruby felt a pounding in her heads. The same feeling from before that begged to be loosed. She remembered Maria’s words and thought of Jaune, not the Grimm closing in on them. Ruby closed her eyes and focused on the way he made her feel. Warm, safe. Like butterflies were living in her stomach. His gentle smile he showed rarely and the sardonic one he made in good humor. She wanted to protect his smile. She wanted to protect him, and the people she loved. The power she could feel thundered behind her eyes and she finally opened them. 

When she did she saw her vision filled with white, black, and red. The murderous gaze of the Tyrant was almost upon her, the three of them having landed and cautiously approached her. Ruby was within reach of the beast and it lunged at her as the sky around her erupted into blinding light, the power finally pushing through and out of her. The light drug her strength with it, leaving her breath ragged but the immediate sky around them clear of Grimm, the only remnants being the disappearing dust around them. 


	31. The Beginning of the End

White tile.

That was his first observation that his mind helpfully supplied by the time he realized he was awake. Jaune’s eyes were open and he couldn’t even remember when he woke up, he just was. When he finally turned his head, which could have been in seconds or hours, he half expected to see the golden mane of his girlfriend beside his bed.

No luck. There was no one there for him when he woke up and the only accompaniment he had was the steady beeping of the medical monitors located near his bedside. It was a disappointment, not Yang nor Ruby had stayed with him. It took him a moment to shake his head, of course they shouldn’t be there all the time, he wanted them to take care of themselves as well. 

Lacking anyone to talk to, the blond started taking stock of his surroundings. It didn’t seem to be a hospital, more of an infirmary. There were beds lined up down the large space with divider curtains but it seemed he was the sole occupant. It turned out that craning his neck strained his injury and he had to grit his teeth to avoid yelling out. It was so much worse than the last time he’d woken up and that thought triggered his memory.

Jaune recalled the sirens, the announcement of Grimm. Sucking in breath he forced himself to calm down. Despite his instinct to panic he knew things had to have gone well if he was alive and somewhere else. 

“Mr. Arc?” At the mention of his name his head snapped around to look at the speaker, another mistake given the protestations of his wound, but he saw the older man in a white coat approaching him. The man had a well kept but graying beard as his shoes clipped against the floor, “I was just coming to check on your condition. It’s a good thing you’ve woken up, your companions have been incessant.”

The man came to a stop next to his bed, casting a cursory glance at the readouts there, humming to himself before addressing Jaune once more, “I’m sure you’re confused right now, especially having no one here when you woke up. My name is Doctor Gainsboro and you are in the infirmary of Atlas Academy.”

“I’m in Atas!?” The words just tumbled out of his mouth in his shock causing the man to chuckle.

“Yes Mr. Arc. You were unconscious for your journey but your companions did indeed bring you to Atlas. It was quite a tale but I’m sure they’d want to tell you themselves. For now let us address a few things now that you’re cognizant.” 

Bringing a stool over to sit down next to him, Doctor Gainsboro sat down with a more somber mood and Jaune felt himself swallow, “The parasite was removed before you reached my care but I got a full account from Miss Rose of what happened. Attacks from Tyrants haven’t been reported in sixty years so my knowledge only comes from old accounts.”

“The parasite, with proximity to the Grimm itself, caused extensive injury to your trapezius muscle as well as causing severe nerve damage there. Under orders from General Ironwood, no expense was spared in regards to treatment but there’s only so much that modern medicine can do, even when combined with aura.”

Jaune felt his heart sinking as the doctor delivered the next line.

“You may never be able to wield a weapon with your right hand again. With physical therapy you will be able to regain some dexterity, but only enough for day to day activity.

  
  


* * *

Yang let the cold biting air batter her face as she stared out across and into the distant ocean from a balcony in Atlas Academy. Ironwood had been generous enough to give them accomodations and had pulled Qrow and Raven into meeting after meeting as soon as he was filled in, much to her mother’s chagrin. It was an odd thought to get used to, having her biological mother back in her life, though not in the way she had maybe imagined when she was young. The anger and resentment still burned in the back of her core, always there but never enough to get angry over anymore. What was the point of hating her anymore? Sure the woman was helping but it was in her own self interest and not because she wanted to protect anyone.

But the reason she was staring out over the emotion like the moody teenager that she was wasn’t because of Raven but rather the two of the people closest to her. She didn’t have the heart to tell Ruby she’d heard the conversation between them. She hadn’t intended to return to Jaune’s room but her guilt over not telling him everything had been gnawing at her until her feet had turned her right around and it was there, just before she’d went in, that she’d heard Ruby’s voice.

_ When I kissed you! _

Yang remembered the way her feet had cemented themselves to the floor and a pit opened up beneath her, it was all she had heard but it was enough. The blond closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the shilled air around her hoping the cold would cool down the anger she found settling down in her stomach. She’d pushed the resentment aside when the klaxons had rung but now that the danger was out, the feeling had returned. It wasn’t even about the kiss, that she could rationalize, even if she didn’t like it. No this was about her own sister lying about her feelings, sacrificing her own in order to make her happy.

Oh she knew what Ruby was thinking but it didn’t piss her off any less and she didn’t want to face Jaune like this and risk letting her anger be aimed at his direction. Yang felt her semblance heating up the air around her, it wasn’t much, just a few degrees but she could tell and her hand gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white. The thought of Jaune and Ruby kissing, it turned her stomach, made jealousy ignite within her because she  _ knew _ they would have been great for each other, still would. She’d been the one to fall for him but it turned out Ruby had like him first. 

Damn her for lying to her!

The more she thought about it the more she got worked up. She wasn’t some stupid bimbo who’d blame Jaune, she knew it wasn’t his fault but she still felt anger at him, the feeling just couldn’t be helped. It was why she was out here and not by his side waiting for him to wake up, she couldn’t bear to be in the same room as him right then. Yang wasn’t sure how she’d react. No doubt the others could tell something was but they had yet to mention anything though it looked like Blake was on the verge of asking what was wrong. She couldn’t deal with the faunus prying right then, the blond was still simmering over her partner leaving and would snap if pushed. Maybe the girl had sensed it.

“Yang?”

The blond took in a deep breath, her eyes closed as she gathered her patience. No matter how angry she was she didn’t want to hurt her little sister. Without turning to face the younger girl, Yang replied, “Yeah?”

“Are you okay? Jaune’s back at the room but we’re waiting for you before we start the party.”

Yang let out a breath of amusement, she really did love her friends, “Go on without me, Rubes.”

Even though she wasn’t looking directly at her, she could almost imagine Ruby’s confused face, “Why? Yang, what’s wrong?”

Yang’s hands tightened, “It’s nothing Ruby. Just leave it be.”

“No, what’s wrong Yang? I can help.”

The blond’s chest constricted, a hot feeling igniting in her chest as she grit her teeth, “No. You can’t.” 

“Are… are you mad at me?” The hurt in the younger girl’s voice didn’t even register with her sister. When Yang’s eyes opened they were crimson and that ugly feeling in her stomach exploded outward as she spun on the spot, staring down the brunette with the full force of her glare.

“I don’t know, Ruby. Why would I be angry?”

“Look, I’m sorry I took that risk. But I had to do something! They were going to tear the bullhead apart.” Ruby cried out, backing up.

Yang stalked forwards with a growl, “You know damn well that’s not what I’m talking about, Ruby.”

The blond didn’t care about what made sense anymore. All that existed was her anger and her hurt. Her hurt from Ruby lying to her. From her sister, whom she loved above all else, deceiving her. It didn’t matter to her that she had done it for Yang. The reason she was angry was that she’d gotten her hopes up. She’d fallen for the boy and fallen hard. And now Ruby was trying to take that away.

No.

Her younger sister would never do that but that little piece of doubt wormed it’s way in her stomach. Maybe she wouldn’t do it intentionally but the two were a fantastic pair. If they liked each other then what chance did Yang have? She was a tomboy. Gorgeous, sure. But Ruby was cute and quickly growing into a beautiful woman in her own right. Yang didn’t think she could win against Ruby like that. If Ruby wanted to she could steal Jaune away easily and that worried the brawler. Even if she knew her sister would never do such a thing, she was too caught up in her emotions to rationalize them. 

“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ruby’s back bumped against the door to the balcony, she’d run out of room to retreat.

“Jaune and you. How long?” Yang growled out.

Ruby’s eyes widened, “What?”

“Answer me! How long have you felt that way about Jaune?” Crimson eyes bore down into silver mere inches away.

“How did you know?” Ruby’s voice was barely a whisper but the older sister heard it, being so close.

“I heard you. How you kissed him.”

The younger girl let out a horrified gasp as her hand shot up to her mouth, Yang idly noted she wasn’t wearing her prosthetic, “Yang. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me! I di- didn’t mean to. There were all those Grimm. An- and I didn’t think we’d survive and I j-just thought that- that- tha-” her voice choked off with a sob as tears started streaming down her face and Yang could quickly feel her shame cooling down her temper. She’d made her sister cry.

That didn’t mean Yang still wasn’t angry but the sight of Ruby crying brought the young woman back to reason, back to the ability to put her anger in the back seat. Closing her eyes, Yang spoke softly, “I heard you at Pyrrha’s mom’s place.”

Ruby wrapped her arms around the blonde, burying her face deep into her shirt, “I’m sorry Yang. But like I said then, I told Jaune to forget it happen because he has you. I-I don’t want to get in the way.”

“In the way? In the way?!” Yang glared at her younger sister once again, “You were there first. We all saw how you felt about him! You could have had- Why would you give that up for me? Do you have any idea how I feel?! I’ve been hurting you this entire time without knowing it! I promised - _ promised-  _ to protect you.”

The anger was gone, out in a rush and all that replaced it was the hurt. The hurt from betrayal, the hurt from knowing how she might have been hurting her own sister. Silver eyes looked up in tears and bore into lilac.

“I’m sorry Yang. I’m sorry for being a bad sister.”

The look struck her like a bolt of lightning. The look of pure guilt and shame on Ruby’s face as she blamed herself. Yang’s feelings mirrored what she could see in her sister, shame pooling in the bottom of her stomach. Unable to take it anymore she pulled the younger girl away from the door and rushed through it, not looking back as tears threatened her eyes.

She didn’t know how she felt anymore. Anger, jealousy, and shame swirled around, vying for control as she dashed through the corridors. The watering of her eyes made it difficult for her to see so it should have been no surprise when she collided with someone.Backing up, Yang got a good look at the person she ran into and groaned internally. 

Staring at her with red eyes was Raven and behind her was General Ironwood and her uncle, Qrow. The last person she wanted to see, Yang made to turn but couldn’t walk away as a hand clamped down on her shoulder. Of all the people to run into in this massive academy it had to be her mother. She wasn’t in the mood and made it known with a glare.

“You two keep going without me.” Turning to her daughter Raven affected a small, but fake, smile, “You come with me.”

Despite her protests the young blonde was dragged into a nearby classroom with no room for objection from either the adults or her. Raven slumped against the teacher’s desk and leaned back, all the while Yang glared daggers at the woman. Eventually she peeked through one eye and cocked her head, as if asking why she was there at all.

“Well?” Yang said incredulously, “You wanted to talk to me right?”

“Not really. But it was either this or more meetings. Thanks for that by the way.”

Yang grit her teeth and made to storm out but no sooner was her hand on the doorknob than Raven spoke up again, causing her to stop in her tracks.

“There a reason you aren’t with your boy-toy?” 

The comment was ill-advised in her current state but it seemed Raven enjoyed poking the wasp nest. Slowly she turned to face her mother, someone she wasn’t happy with and in her current mood was all too glad to lash into the woman.

“Oh and suddenly you care about where I spend my time?”

“Well I am your mother.” Raven’s eyes didn’t leave hers but the way she said the phrase made it clear that neither of them believed the statement.

“Excuse me?” Yang felt disgusted, “You may have given birth to me, but you aren’t my mother,  _ Raven _ . Don’t you dare pretend you give a damn about me after seventeen years!” 

“Okay. I won’t. But tell me this. Was Summer really so much better?”

“How dare you! Of course Summer was better. She actually cared!”

Raven snorted, rolling her eyes, “Not enough to come back alive, it seems.”

The words slammed into her harder than a physical blow would have, the blonde rendered speechless as her mouth opened and closed. Yang could hardly comprehend the idea, though it was one that she had had before. Summer loved them, there was no doubt to that but she had always wondered, deep in her mind, if she had loved being a hero more. The kind of woman she was, she would have given her life for a hopeless cause on the off chance things might work out. 

Where did this coward get off comparing herself to Summer?

Purple turned red and before she knew it, Yang was flying at her mother.

* * *

Things had gone according to plan, or that’s what she’d love to say if her daughter wasn’t currently trying to take her head off. Raven had seen it as plain as day when they had bumped into each other in the hallway, Yang was upset. On the verge of tears and looking like she couldn’t decide if she was angry or in despair. So the only thing the absent mother could do was give the young girl an outlet. 

It was a thankless job, even less so because she knew Yang would hate here even more, and the thought caused a pang of regret, but it was too late to try and be a proper mother to her beautiful daughter. The blonde was having a moment of weakness and RAven wouldn’t let anyone else see it. 

Tai had always had quite the temper, though Summer had mellowed him out even before the two had gotten married. Combine the volatile temper of Taiyang with her own simmering anger and apply the exceptional hand to hand combat skills the girl’s father possessed. Well, the results spoke for themselves. 

Avoiding a fist by a hair's breadth, Raven followed along the fist and diverted her daughter to the side. The girl was strong, and fast, and it took everything she had to keep up with the girl. She truly had taken to Tai’s training like a natural. It seemed Summer’s child was the only prodigy of the family. The older woman felt a rush of pride at the skill she displayed, though that fell a little when she remembered that the only thing she had contributed was genes. 

The bandit leader was completely on the defensive as she endured the blistering rush from the blonde brawler. Raven had never been as good as Taiyang at hand to hand and if she’d drawn her sword the fight would have ended quickly. But that wasn’t the purpose of what she was doing. Yang needed an outlet to her aggression, something Tai had needed on occasion as well. 

A powerfully thrown punch impacted the meat of her palm and she could feel her aur dip slightly as she took the blow. It was retracted before her fingers could curl around the fist and she weaved back out of the way of a boot sailing through the place her head had been a moment earlier. 

“Really, Yang, do you honestly expect to beat me?”

“I expect to smash your face in. Take it back!”

It really was far too easy to goad Yang into a physical confrontation, though then again the girl was already emotional and Raven knew she had issues with her. The woman wasn’t proud of that fact, but she didn’t think her daughter had anger issues either. The girl had grown to use her anger to her advantage, to make her stronger. 

But when an opponent relied on anger as a sort of fuel, sometimes adding to the flames could cause them to self-destruct. Yang walked a fine line between being in control and becoming a berserker. Raven had nudged the girl off the line. 

The blonde threw blow after blow with reckless abandon, leaving opening after opening that Raven could have taken advantage of. It really was in the girls best interest to get this anger sorted, if she had flown into a rage against an opponent that meant her harm she would have been dismantled. 

Sucking in a breath to brace herself she didn’t move away from the next fist that traveled towards her face. A meaty thud sounded as it made contact and Raven staggered back a few feet, her eyes dancing. Her daughter hit like a truck and although she was proud of that she entertained getting revenge on Tai for it as well. Her aura had protected her from serious harm but the blow had hurt and as the spots cleared from her vision she saw Yang panting from her exertion, eyes a normal shade of lilac. A satisfied smirk was plastered on her lips.

“Happy now?” Raven asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Screw you, Raven.”

“Charming.”

“Tch.” Yang clicked her tongue and walked past her mother, leaning in to bump her shoulder forcefully into the bandit leader’s, “You don’t get to say Summer’s name after the things you’ve done.”

When the door closed, Raven reached up and touched her nose and it came away with a speck of red. She smiled bitterly at it.

Strong indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this marks the start of the final arc in Lithium Rose. Not gonna reveal how much, exactly, is left but It's gonna take a hot minute to end. There are threads I want to tie up though, sadly, there will be some I won't get to. Though I call it the final art, it'll be more than likely separated into two parts, with the latter half being what I call the endgame.


	32. Solace and Solitude

Ruby wandered the halls of Atlas despondently, her hood was drawn tight against her head as she sniffled. Her eyes never left the tiled floor as she moved out of the way of those traveling the corridors. She couldn’t bring herself to care about where she was going, it didn’t matter anymore. Yang hated her and she deserved it. She was a horrible sister, why couldn’t she have just ignored her feelings? The last hour was a blur of crying and cyclical thoughts, all leading her to the same terrible conclusion: She was a bad sister. Ruby loved her sister and it hurt to have Yang so angry at her.

“Excuse me!” Ruby kept on walking, oblivious to the person calling out to her until they got right up next to the hooded girl, “Excuse me, are you okay?”

The figure stepped in front of her and Ruby looked at the girls clothes, an Atlas uniform, and started wondering what was going on, but couldn’t bring herself to meet the person’s eyes. She didn’t want to show her crying face to a stranger.

“Oh, pardon me, I haven’t introduced myself! Salutations! My name is NIkol Polendina. What is your name?”

Polendina? Ruby’s eyes went wide as they shot up the rest of the way to the girl’s face. There she was, Penny. No, that wasn’t right. The person in front of her looked like Penny, almost exactly like her, but there were a few key differences. This girl lacked freckles like her friend and her hair and eyes were different colors. While Penny had ginger orange hair, Nikol had platinum blond hair with blue eyes instead of green. But other than that they were identical right down to the hairstyle and the optimistic grin on her face.

“Penny?” No that wasn’t right but it slipped out anyways as Ruby’s hands covered her mouth. At the mention of the name the girl in question tilted her head questioningly.

“Penny was my sister. As I have already said, my name is Nikol Polendina.”

Ruby’s mind went blank and then it hit her.  _ Sister _ she said. That meant? “Does that mean you’re… um… beep boop?” The young leader tilted her arms at right angles as she said it and then gave up when it only confused the girl in front of her more, “Are you a robot too?”

At the mention of the word robot Nikol’s hands flashed out and clamped over Ruby’s mouth, “Shh!” When she thought that Ruby would no longer say anything she removed her hand, “How did you know?”

“Penny told me back when she was visiting Vale for the Vytal Festival.” Her eyes drooped down, remembering her unusual friend.

“She must have trusted you a great deal if she told you that.” Nikol’s eyes bored into her.

“Of course! We were friends.”

“Friends!” Nikol closed her eyes as if savoring the word, providing a similar reaction as Penny once had, “A friend of my sister is a friend of mine. What is your name?”

“Oh right! I’m Ruby Rose!” Ruby puffed out her chest and thumped it with her right hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Nikol. I’m glad we could become friends.”

The robot’s grin grew as she threw her arms into the air, “Sensational!” She shouted, rushing forward to envelope Ruby in a vice-like hug, “Yup. Definitely Penny’s sister.” She gasped out with whatever breath she could get.

“What happened to your arm?” It was as blunt as a battering ram but said with the same childlike naivete her sister had. Ruby could help but smile sorrowfully at it.

“I lost it.” She put her hand on her stump hidden under her cloak.

“And you couldn’t find it?” Came the simple question.

“Nikol.” Ruby blinked owlishly, “It was cut off. We can’t just put it back on, humans don’t work that way. Besides Doctor Polendina made me a cool robot arm.”

“Father is very good at robotics.” Nikol understated, nodding proudly, “Where is that arm?”

“Eh.” Ruby rubbed the socket of her stump. It had begun to get cold again, something she had ignored for the last few hours, but was becoming a nuisance again. The cold metal made her bones ache, “I left it back in the room. The cold makes it hurt.”

Nikol’s eyes went wide, “Oh no! No no no no! That will not do. You must come see my father at once. He will fix it!” The girl grabbed Ruby’s hand and started dragging her down the hallway.

“Wait! Nikol wait!” She stopped and turned but maintained the iron grip on Ruby’s hand, “I don’t want to bother him. He’s a busy scientist right?”

“Don’t be silly Ruby.” Nikol resumed bringing her back down the halls of Atlas Academy, “He’d be more than happy to see you.”

Ruby finally gave up trying to get out of the girl’s grip, it was impossible with only one hand. At least she had stopped thinking about Yang, and for that she could afford to go along with her new friend.

* * *

“I’m sorry, Qrow.” Raven sat down at the bar next to her brother, setting her helmet on top of it and her weapon leaning up next to her, within reach.

“You don’t have to lie to my face Ray.” Qrow replied, not even glancing at her as he did so.

Raven frowned at her brother, “You think I’m lying?”

“About being concerned for my well being? Yeah.” Qrow downed the whiskey in the glass he had been drinking and ordered another from the barkeep. Say what you want about Atlas but they sure knew how to make good booze.

“Well for what it’s worth, I’m not.”

“Huh, coulda fooled me. You come here to say I told you so?” 

“No.”

That finally got him to look at her, fixing one baleful, pale red eye on his sister in surprise. Normally she would have jumped at the chance to rub the fact that she was right into his face. He’d gone and trusted Ozpin and now he found out that the enemy they’d been fighting for so long was unkillable. How do you fight something like that? Unlike his sister, he’d found purpose in working with Ozpin. Had thought that maybe he could actually do some good in the world. He felt a crack in the glass he was holding, taking a deep breath and consciously unfurling his fingers from around it.

“I felt vindicated when I found out.” She continued, “But it’s not like I wanted you to be hurt.”

“I guess you’ve always been like that. You care, just can’t show it.” He had the satisfaction of seeing her look away from him. As much as she had messed up with Yang and Tai he knew she still cared for them, though she’d never said why she’d done it, “Why’d you do it, Ray?”

“Do what, little brother?” She only broke out that epithet when she was annoyed but he decided to push on.

“Leave.” Another sip of his new whisker, savoring the strong flavor.

“This again?” Raven rolled her eyes, “I told you I needed to take over the tribe.”

“And I told you that was bullshit, Ray. You didn’t give a shit about our father before.”

Raven tensed up, this was usually the part where she told him to stuff it if he didn’t believe her but she seemed to pause, weighing her words, “Does it really matter?”

It was Qrow’s turn to pause and think, “Yeah. I guess it does.”

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, “It was Tai. You remember what happened. I imagine that’s why he’s not here now. He’d just slow everyone down.”

Tai’s condition. It wasn’t something they talked about and he doubted the girl’s knew about what had happened to their father. IT wasn’t anything that endangered his life as long as he didn’t get in over his head on a mission. 

“Shit, don’t tell me it’s because you think he’s weak now!” Qrow accused.

“No!” Raven seemed repulsed by the idea and glared at him, “Never. When our father died, the tribe reached out to me. Said that as the strongest person in the tribe that I needed to lead it. They wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

The realization dawned on Qrow, “You didn’t.”

Raven sighed, “I did. Either I go back to the tribe or they keep coming after Tai.”

“You could have trashed anyone coming after him.”

“I can’t watch his back every hour of every day. There would come a time that I couldn’t have protected him.” Her voice dipped low, “The same as Summer.”

“Shit Ray. Why’d you make this decision by yourself?” His drink was forgotten and no matter what had happened between them she was still his sister.

“It doesn’t matter.” She raised her hand and ordered the same drink as him, downing it in one go when it got there, ordering another, “I burned my bridges Qrow. Doesn’t matter why.” 

“I guess.” Qrow relented, “Even if it was a stupid.”

“Yang was better off without me, anyways. If Summer was still here, you wouldn’t have wanted me to come back.”

“Summer would have. She loved the team.”

Raven looked at him, “So did I.”

He raised his glass, “For Summer.”

Without a word she raised hers and tapped their rims together with a light clink, “If you tell Yang I’ll kill you.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” Qrow chuckled.

* * *

Yang ducked behind a corner for the uptienth time that day. The reason why was her six foot blonde boyfriend who had just come out of the infirmary. It would be the first chance to really talk to him since the train to Argus. Their conversation in the Nikos household couldn’t really count because he hadn’t been awake for very long and their conversation had been depressing. She knew she should go talk to him. Say hi and somehow figure out a way to talk to him about Ruby. 

Oh gods, Ruby.

Closing her eyes she rested her head against the wall, What a mess  _ that  _ line of thinking was but it was something she had to do. Her sister had feelings for her boyfriend, the thought ran through her head for the millionth time. No longer was she angry, just drained, the eruption she’d had at her mother had taken all of the fire out of her. 

_ A Branwen and a Rose fighting over a blonde, wow. _

Well, she wouldn’t fight Ruby. As much as she could get angry at her sister, she loved the girl too much to hurt her like that. And therein lay the biggest problem: one of them was going to get hurt.

Logically, Ruby had already made her choice and let her have Jaune. Her sister had known she would hurt and had decided to give up her feelings, or at least try to. Obviously she hadn’t been very successful. 

All of that and then there was Jaune in the mix as well. She’d resorted to hiding from him, Yang knew this couldn’t last either. They’d have to face it eventually but did it make her a coward if she didn’t want to yet?

“Yang?”

The blond nearly jumped out of her skin at being addressed, she’d been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the person approaching her. She glared limply at her partner as the faunus looked at her with concern. Quickly, Yang straightened herself and feigned nonchalance. 

“Hey Blake. What’s up?” The faunus crossed her arms, looking unimpressed.

“You’ve been avoiding us, Yang. Why?”

“What? No, not you.” Yang twirled a finger in a lock of her hair and she didn’t think it was possible but her partner looked even less impressed than before.

“Really? So you  _ aren’t  _ out here hiding from everyone?”

“Not  _ everyone.” _ That was enough for Blake to put the pieces together, she looked around the corner and spied Jaune in the distance. He was deep in conversation with Ren and Nora about something. 

“Okay. Yang, this is for your own good, I’m returning the favor. We need to talk.” Before she could ask Blake what she meant, the faunus yanked her down the hallway and drew her into an empty classroom. Atlas was still holding regular classes but they’d arrived on a weekend and had yet to really see any of the students.

The classroom was set up in the same way as Beacon’s with an amphitheater style that had the students raised up with terrace style desks overlooking the professors podium and desk. Yang could tell this was familiar, remembering the time she had dragged her partner to an empty classroom. It felt like so long ago that it had happened. It hadn’t even been a year ago.

“What’s wrong Yang?” Blake asked, a certain gentleness to her voice as she spoke, almost like she was afraid to spook her partner. She looked away, unwilling to speak, and Blake sighed. 

Yang watched her as she circled around to the desk, hand trailing across the surface, “I never said I was sorry.”

“Huh?”

“For running away. I know I said I was going after the White Fang but that was just an excuse. I’m sorry Yang. Sun and my family helped me to realize something on Menagerie. Running won’t solve my problems” Blake smiled bitterly, “Obvious, I know.”

“Sometimes things are so obvious you can’t see them.” Yang supplied.

“But it’s still not an excuse.” Blake looked her in the eyes and stepped up to her, taking her hands, “I should have been there for you, and for Ruby. This team is like family to me. I love all of you. Even Weiss.”

“That’s great Blake, but did you need to bring me here to say that?”

“The thing is, when Sun and I got to Menagerie, I didn’t want to go see my parents.” Her ears flattened and her eyes dipped down, “I was afraid of what they’d say to me. The last time that I’d seen them, I called my father a coward for leaving the White Fang. Then I left and joined Sienna as we took more radical actions.”

“But you know what they said?” She took a deep breath, “That they were glad I was safe. They’d heard about Vale and what Adam did, they were worried about me. They said they loved me and were never angry. Disappointed, sure, but never angry.”

“That’s great and all Blake.” Yang said, “But what does all this have to do with me?”

The two cat ears perked up again as Blake fixed her with a stare, “My point, Yang, is that when you love someone you can forgive a lot. And I don’t know what happened between you and Jaune but I’m not going to stand by anymore. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to watch you walk on glass? Besides, “ Blake smirked, “I drew the short straw.”

“You what?!” Yang caught the small sassy smirk on her partner’s face and scowled, “You suck.”

The faunus girl rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Just tell me what’s going on. Please?”

How could Yang refuse when her partner asked her? “When Ruby and Jaune fell off the train, you remember how they ended up in that town?” Blake nodded, “Well apparently when the Grimm were about to attack Ruby kissed him.”

Blake waited a few more seconds to see if anything else was forthcoming and when it wasn’t she almost looked disappointed, “That’s all?” She asked carefully.

“My sister kissed my boyfriend, Blake.” Yang answered, a little annoyed.

“Well you. I can see how you’d probably be mad but it’s not such a big deal is it? Especially in life threatening situations. I saw it a lot in the Fang. I don’t think you have anything to be worried about.”

“But that’s the thing.” Yang crossed her arms under her chest, “Ruby told me she didn’t feel that way when she did. I thought it was okay and if I’d known she felt that way…”

“You wouldn’t have done anything?” Blake finished and Yang nodded, “Aren’t you forgetting something important?” Yang looked up at her, “How does Jaune feel? I mean you keep talking about both you and Ruby’s feelings for him but what about his feelings for either of you? He agreed to go out with you so he must have feelings for you, I would think that he wouldn’t just change his mind. And if he does then he wouldn’t be worth either of your time anyways.”

It was a remarkably logical conclusion and Yang was surprised she hadn’t seen it before. Why had she been neglecting how he felt? Didn’t she trust him? Of course she did but when faced with the idea of being abandoned she just lost all reason. The realization made her want to slap her palm to her face.

“Thanks Blake. I guess it was just one of those cases of not being able to see the forest for the trees type thing.”

Blake smirked, “And here I was hoping I would get to smack some sense into you.”

“Maybe next time. I can’t promise I won’t be weird about this still. I mean, my sister  _ is  _ still into my boyfriend. But I think I might be able to figure this out now.”

Yang was glad she’d made eye contact with the girl all that time ago, she couldn’t imagine having a different partner. It wouldn’t be far off to say that they completed each other pretty well, covered each other’s weaknesses, in combat and out of it. She pulled her partner into a hug and for once the quiet girl didn’t resist and returned it.

* * *

“Report.” The one word was clipped and sharp as Winter Schnee stepped into the cordoned area. The perimeter was secured by a mix of Atlesian knights and soldiers with Winter being the lead investigator of this particular incident. The manta, and Atlesian aircraft, was set down among a small clearing in the pine forest located on the south-eastern shore of Solitas. The interior looked fine but it was the cockpit that interested her. Both the pilot and co-pilot’s seat had punctures at chest level, each was caked in blood that had seeped into the cushioning. 

“Two punctures in both seats, one at fifty-three centimeters on the co-pilot’s seat and the other at forty-nine centimeters. No bodies were found on board but it is assumed that the crew is KIA. The pilot seat’s damage was caused by a bladed weapon, length cannot be extrapolated. The other was caused by a separate weapon, we are guessing there were two assailants.”

Winter hummed her reply as she observed the second hole, it was narrow, like a blade, but had a thicker breadth than the other one, suggesting whatever caused it was thicker than the very thin blade of the other weapon.

“That one actually has a final point in the controls in front of the seat,” There was a similar hole in the blood spattered controls for the co-pilot, “Measuring it, we concluded the length was too long for a practical blade that could be drawn in the confined space of the manta. The trajectory supports it being a projectile, most likely a broadhead arrow.”

“I see.” Winter stood up and surveyed the cockpit, disgust surged up in her. Another Atlesian life lost in the line of duty but one that shouldn’t have been. Maria Cordova had signaled that two of her aircraft had gone missing. Bothe were now accounted for. The first had been occupied by none other than her sister and her sister’s friends, though Winter personally disapproved of the theft, General Ironwood had waved it off as extenuating circumstances. This one however, had been spotted by a routine patrol, and a brief investigation had shown the previous occupants had most likely met a gruesome end. She vowed to herself to find the ones responsible and bring them to justice. 

“There was one more thing, Specialist.” The technician brought her to the rear of the aircraft where more evidence had been left. Three red streaks were painted on the wall in blood in a simile of claw marks. The sight of it set her blood boiling as she grit her teeth. She could not show a reaction in front of the others but she wanted so badly to lash out. It was a symbol she’d seen before and had haunted her for years. 

It was a calling card.

It was the calling card of one of the most dangerous and wanted people in Atlas, and now Remnant, for their participation at the events at Beacon. Her knuckles turned white as her ice blue eyes glared at the dark red streaks and she gritted out the man’s name.

“Taurus.”


	33. Hearth and Home

“Taurus and an accomplice. I’ll put out a warning. Good work Winter.” Winter Schnee straightened ever so slightly at the praise from her superior. The office of General Ironwood was situated atop a tower within Atlas Academy, though the Academy itself was adjacent to the Atlas military base with the school being a track school to elevate huntsman candidates into either the specialists or hunters depending on their career path.

This year alone held many promising students and Winter couldn’t help but be positive about their prospects, though that was soon shadowed by the information Ironwood had given her in relation to their true foe. Adam Taurus may have been slinking around Atlas but the real enemy was Salem. Whether or not the terrorist had ties to her was moot, the man wasn’t there to suddenly turn himself in. He was up to something.

“Thank you, Sir.” She stood at attention for a moment as he shifted through the reports on his desk.

“You are anxious to see your sister, aren’t you?” He said when he finally looked up at her, his gaze genial if not a bit exhausted. They’d all felt the lack of sleep this last ten months since the fall, though the security of the kingdom came first.

“Sir?”

“You haven’t seen Weiss since they arrived, have you?”

“No, Sir. My duties have kept me quite busy.” Winter replied.

“Hm.” He considered while stroking the beard that had been growing. He’d not even had time to shave it though, if Winter were allowed, it suited him. Gave him a measure of sophistication and rugged handsomeness, “You need a break.”

“Sir I couldn’t possibly-” She began but he cut her off with a raised hand.

“I need you in top shape Winter. How about you see to assigning a pair of our students as liaisons? Perhaps some that were there for the Vytal Festival?”

Winter considered it for a moment, “I can think of several, General.”

“Good. See to it and when you’re done you can have the rest of the day and two more days off. Spend some time with your sister. After that we’ll hunt down Taurus.”

Winter almost protested before she saw the look in his eyes, she nodded and saluted, “Yes General. If I might be so impertinent: You should seek some rest as well. Atlas need you as well.”

Ironwood chuckled, “I’ll consider it. Dismissed, Specialist.”

With a smart turn Winter headed out the door. On the way to her office she ran across one of the people she had great distaste for, his form slumped up against a railing, viewing the courtyard in front of the academy, cloak billowing in the wind. 

“What are you doing, Branwen?” If the older man showed any surprise at her sudden address then he hid it well. One pale red eye swiveled to eye her, unfocused. She’d seen the man at least once since they’d arrived, in a meeting with the Branwen twins, herself, and Ironwood to discuss what had happened on their journey to Haven and to Atlas.

“Just lost in thought.” He said after a moment, return to watching whatever was outside. Out of idle curiosity Winter stepped up next to him and saw he was looking at some of the students, the semester had begun months ago. 

“Must be terrifying.” She retorted and saw him give a silent chuckle.   
  
“Y’know, if you weren’t so cold you wouldn’t be so bad. You’ve got a sharp wit.” A lazy, lopsided smirk stared back at her indignant glare, “I’m here to talk to Jimmy. Got something he should probably know.”

That got her attention but she forced her interest down. If the General wanted her to know then he would tell her. He’d trusted her with the knowledge of Salem, after all. The revelation had brought a newfound if begrudging respect for the man in front of her. He was strong, she knew that from their fight last year at Beacon.

“Well the General is free now, if you need to speak with him.” Finally he stood, still slouched but taller than her, and faced her. Winter inhaled sharply at what she saw. His face haggard and dark circles under his eyes. He looked in far more need of a rest than the General did. It wasn’t something she had noticed upon their meeting before. The smile was brittle and forced, like if he didn’t put on a brave face he would break down. 

“Thanks Ice Queen.” He passed her with a slight wobble in his step, “You should go say hi to your sister. Or greet her or whatever it is you Schnee do instead of being familiar with each other.” 

Then again he still had the uncanny ability to get under her skin but she managed to contain a retort and instead crossed her arms and ignored him. Soon he was gone and the only thing left was the stench of alcohol.

* * *

“In here!” Nikol had led Ruby all across the academy, seemingly giving her the grand tour as well as leading her to her ‘father’s workshop’ where he spent a massive amount of his time when he wasn’t in Mantle tending his clinic. She’d gone on and on about her father and how amazing he was and how she couldn’t wait to introduce them, Ruby didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d already met Dr. Polendina.

The good Doctor’s laboratory was situated on the base side of the academy and the only reason she’d been let in was because she was being escorted by Nikol and given permission by the Doctor when they’d radio’d him ahead of time. Now the young huntress was gawking at all the advanced technology on display in front of her. The weapons and ship there were all state of the art and had Ruby drooling. She was already making plans on trying to get some upgrades for Crescent Rose and Rose Thorn.

Nikol led her by her mechanical arm into her father’s shop, “Father? I have brought friend Ruby!” She announced loudly. 

“Ruby, my dear! So glad you could come!” The old doctor entered the room, his lab coat splotched with blue and black stains. He hadn’t changed since she had seen him almost a year ago. 

“Hey Doctor. You’ve been busy.” Ruby gazed all around the workshop. There were electronics strewn everywhere in a familiar state that she recognized as the controlled chaos of a creative kind, her room and the weapons lab at Signal often looked the same.

“Indeed I have. How’s the arm been?”

“Amazing!” Ruby gushed. They’d stopped at team RWBY’s new room, gifted to them by Ironwood, to pick up her prosthetic and suddenly she was waving it in front of her, “It’s so responsive and I can actually feel things! Kind of. I mean you know because you created it but it’s  _ amazing!  _ Not even a scratch either, and trust me I’ve put it through it’s paces. The aura channeling system is just so useful!”

Geppetto laughed heartily as the young girl went on until she ran out of breath, “I’m glad you like it. It’s a prototype so I was mildly worried something might go wrong with it.”

“But something has, Father!” Nikol interjected, “Ruby has mentioned that occasionally the cold will bother her socket where the arm attaches.”

When Doctor Polendina looked to ruby she was pushing her index fingers together, “Yeah it hurts a little sometimes.”

“Hmmm, Why don’t you sit right here and let me take a look.” Polendina patted a bench seat next to a workstation that Ruby hopped onto. 

The doctor took her mechanical arm in hand and started opening up parts of it with his specialized tools. It felt odd to Ruby as she watched him poke and prod inside her arm, even if it was a prosthetic. 

“Must have been quite the journey from Vale. It’s been what, a year since I saw you?” Geppetto spoke as he worked. Occasionally he would pull something out or switch tools. It wasn’t long until he had almost all the plating on her arm removed and she could see the servos, wires, and lights that made up the innards. She stared with a morbid curiosity, like a patient watching their own operation. 

“It was pretty eventful. We stopped a Grimm incursion, saved Haven from the White Fang, and Jaune and I managed to get back safely from being thrown off a train on the way to Argus…. Well mostly safe.” Ruby remembered the sight of her friend bleeding out on the rooftop. 

She shook her head, “But we made it. Finally.”

“So much at so young.” The doctor seemed to be soldering something into the circuitry of her arm, “I’m sorry such a burden has fallen on kids like yourself. The Maidens were supposed to be our responsibility.”

The brunette stared at him with wide eyes, “How do you know that?!”

He stopped working on the arm for a moment to give her a kind smile, “Well of course I know about them, why do you think I built Penny and Nikol?” He continued at her confused expression, “My two daughters are advanced androids capable of generating an aura. Which means a soul. The soul is the vessel which houses the Maiden’s power, or so we believe.”

As confused as she might be, Ruby was not an idiot, “You wanted Penny to become a Maiden?!”

_ Father says that one day I will save the world. _

It had sounded like idealistic dreaming when Penny had first said it but now, thinking about it, the advantages were enormous. If they held the Maidens’ powers then no one else would get them, they were effectively immortal. There was just one problem.

“How would they get the powers?”

“That would be classified.” A new voice sounded from the door, a tall man with thin glasses stood, his gray hair wild and unkempt but the pure intelligence hidden behind his glasses burned with passion. His lips quirked up into a smile, “A pleasure to meet you. I’m Doctor Weller, I’ve been working with Geppetto on this project for the past few years.”

“Rufus, this is Ruby Rose, she and her team have been heavily involved with Penny and the Maidens. Ruby, Doctor Weller was the one who pioneered the means of harnessing aura.”

“Harnessing aura?” Ruby asked as she shook the man’s hand.

“Well your scroll, for one. Rufus invented the technology to detect and quantify aura.” 

Ruby’s eyes expanded into dinner plates as she shook the man’s hand with her good one.

“Oh please Geppetto, that was when I was much younger and you know I can’t talk about what I’ve done since then. I’m just lucky Atlas was willing to throw so much lien in my direction.” Weller laughed. 

“Woah. You guys must be like, super smart.” The comment earned a good laugh from the two doctors and an embarrassed flush from the young huntress.

“Doctor Weller?” Nikol asked, she’d remained silent until then, “When is doctor McCloud going to return? She promised to teach me how to play video games.”

“Hmmm, she’ll probably be spending another week or two in Vale. You’ll hear from her around next month, I’d expect.” Weller replied. 

A slight pinch had Ruby jolt in surprise and she looked down to see Doctor Polendina replacing the coverings to her arm.

“Well there ya go, Ruby. I tweaked with the nerve couplings as well as installed an internal heat sink. Won’t keep the outside cold at bay but should do just fine indoors. Your aura should protect you most other times.”

Ruby waved and flexed her arm about in the air. She could feel it heating up just a little and the weird pinching feeling was gone. Her surprise must have shown on her face because Doctor Polendina laughed.

“You know Miss Rose,” Doctor Weller began, “I have some stories from Penny and Nikol’s early days, if you want to hear them?”

From when Penny and Nikol were new? The Polendina sisters were weird now, they had to be extra weird before. 

“You bet I do.” Ruby replied with a grin.

* * *

“Hey.” Yang said as she knocked on the open door to team JNPR’s room. The rooms they had been given were a lot more spartan than Beacon’s but that just showed Atlas’ view on discipline and all that, or maybe it was just the guest dorms. Jaune turned around from where he was fidgeting on his scroll with one hand, his other still in a sling. It was his face that had her almost grimacing, his reaction was not one of joy at seeing her.

“Hey Yang. Are we talking again?” This barb had her actually flinching, more than aware of how it looked. They yet to actually speak to one another since he’d woken up at Atlas, it felt like it had been forever since they’d been a long. The last time they’d talked she’d pretty much told him he’d had low chances of surviving. 

“Yeah I probably deserve that one.” Yang ran a hand nervously through her hair, “I should have come to see you sooner.”

“I was pretty freaked out when I woke up.” Yang just looked even lower, not meeting his eyes, “What’s wrong Yang? Why were you avoiding me like that?”

With a deep breath Yang walked over and sat next to him on the bed, although not sitting far away from him she was still a good foot away from him, “Right. So. I had a talk with Ruby earlier about something I overheard and I didn’t want to talk to you until I had calmed down.”

“Does that mean you’ve calmed down now?” Jaune asked.

“I’m definitely not calm but this isn’t something that’s gonna go away by ignoring it. I was convinced the best way to handle it was to charge head on.”

“So what was it?” Finally he asked. Maybe he knew what was coming, Yang could tell because her gaze was locked squarely on her feet, her hair in her hands as she played with it. A nervous habit she’d had since forever. Her heart was tap dancing it’s way out of her chest in apprehension. Yang had never feared what was going to happen like this before, never been in a situation where she couldn’t punch her way out of it. The last time she’d felt this helpless was back in the forest of patch, so long ago, and this wasn’t even close to the same life or death stakes as back then. Now all she could lose was Jaune.

So why was she this nervous?

It was about Ruby.” She began, “It was about how my sister kissed my boyfriend.”

“That’s what you’ve been agonizing about?” Yang froze, “I would have thought you’d have come flying out at me if you’d heard something like that. It’s kinda cute seeing you this nervous.”

_ Wait, what?  _ Yang’s head snapped up which was the wrong move as Jaune had apparently been leaning in at that moment. Her forehead cracked against his chin and they both cradled the point of contact for a moment. 

“Jaune are you okay?!” Yang grabbed his face and brought it before hers.

His hand found hers, “I’m fine.” Ignoring her protests he took her hands away from his face and worked his jaw back and forth, wincing ever so slightly before looking her in the eyes, his hand still holding hers. She could feel his warmth, “Look. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what happened between me and Ruby. With everything that was happening it was kind of the last thing on my mind.”

Yang nodded along, she’d figured as much, “I was more mad at Ruby. I shouted at her. Said some things I didn’t mean.”

“You’re not mad at me?” Jaune asked.

“I know you didn’t do anything. But that’s the reason I had to calm down. No matter how much I know you didn’t do it on purpose, I’m still so angry about it.” Her eyes flickered red for a moment, “But more than being angry, I’m scared.”

“Scared? Of what?” Jaune grew more concerned.

“I…” Yang trailed off. It was hard for her, to be vulnerable to someone. She was always the one to be the pillar. For her family, for her team. When Summer died she’d had to pick up the pieces,, suck it up, and become Ruby’s mom, in a sense. 

“Yang?” She forced herself to look at Jaune. His sapphire eyes looked into hers and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Naked concern adorned his features and told her she didn’t need to fear looking weak in front of him. He would understand, she knew. It was one of the things she liked about him.

“I was scared you’d leave me.” She finally whispered to him. Those same blue eyes she stared into widened in surprise.

“What? Why would you think that?!”

“Because you two are so good together. If she’d made a move first it would be you and her, not us.”

“You shouldn’t get caught up in what ifs, Yang.” His voice was sombre and he gave her a sad smile, “Trust me, I know from experience.”

Pyrrha, Yang knew who he was talking about the second he said it. It was obvious. He’d always blamed himself for her death, blamed his weakness. It was one of the reasons he understood her so well. He knew what it was to be weak and need to be stronger except the worst  _ had  _ come to pass with him, she was lucky she hadn’t gotten Ruby killed. 

“You’re right.” It still wasn’t convincing and so Jaune pulled her close with one hand, her forehead resting on his chest.

“Yang. You are the one I’m with. I’m not suddenly going to abandon you because someone says they like me. Besides, if I did something like that Ruby would kick my ass herself.”

Yang chuckled, the sound muffled by his shirt, Ruby would, too. They were sisters like that. They always had each other’s backs.

_ Wait. _

They always had each other’s back. Something Blake had said came back to her, about how they weren’t taking Jaune’s feelings into account. Ruby had been pushing Jaune towards her for a while. The reward after he’d saved her from that poison, for one. Yang hadn’t thought much of Jaune until then, but it was little things that attracted her to him. He loved his family and seemed like he’d make a good father, something she was keen on considering her own parents. He never gave up and always got back up when knocked down, even if he was weak when they had started Beacon he had come a long way. 

He had always cheered her up, since that day at Patch right before they’d left. 

“Jaune.” Yang looked up at him, “How long? How long have you liked me?”

One finger scratched his cheek as he blushed, “P-probably since Verde Vista, I think?”

Since that long in their journey? Yang almost wanted to kick herself for not noticing earlier. This did, however, confirm something. Ruby had always been more of an observant girl than anyone ever did give her credit for, even Yang sometimes forgot. 

It was all she could do to shake her head, her sister had noticed Jaune’s feelings and had been pushing them together for months. It would have been impressive if Ruby hadn’t neglected her own emotions for the stunt.

“That little twerp.” She kissed Jaune’s cheek when he made a confused noise, “I’m gonna need to find Ruby and have a sister to sister chat with her.”

Go easy on her? We were in a bad situation.”

“Don’t worry ladykiller, she’s my sister.” Yang reassured him, after all a bear hug was hardly life threatening. Nor an apology for that matter. 

Yang could wave the kiss off as a finder’s fee.


	34. Truth and Reconciliation

“You look like hell Qrow.” James commented as the huntsman in question oozed into the chair in front of his desk. 

“Good cuz I feel like it.” Qrow slouched into a more comfortable position, ignoring the man’s critical eye as he did so. 

Ironwood sighed, “What was it you needed to see me for?”

He looked at his flask and took a deep breath. He needed to get this out, just get to the point so he couldn’t back out, “When we got the Relic of Knowledge, it wasn’t used up like Oz said it was.”

James’ eyes widened and Qrow continued before he was interrupted, “We used a question. Or, well, Yang did. At the time I was out looking for the Arc kid and Ruby so I didn’t witness it but Raven told me later what happened.”

The General listened quietly as Qrow recounted what his twin had told him.

“You must be joking, Qrow!” Ironwood slammed his fists down onto his desk, the sturdy, metal thing withstanding the force admirably but still sending the contents atop it tumbling to the ground, “Neither of you thought this was something that I needed to know?! We are allies, Qrow!”

“Believe me, James, I wanted to tell you. But with everything going on I wanted to be sure you wouldn’t over react and do something drastic.” The old huntsman looked regretfully at the General. They held eye contact for a moment before James slumped down into his chair. Qrow let him have his moment to think, he’d surely needed his own when he had found out about Ozpin’s lies, even if they were lies of omission. It made it seem that all his talk of trusting the strength of the human spirit to be merely pretty words. Maybe it was, Qrow couldn’t tell. He didn’t feel very trusted at the moment.

“This changes things, Qrow.” James’ voice was low, he sounded tired and on his last legs. Folding his hands together he leaned his forehead on them, propped up on the desk by his elbows.

“Yeah.” Qrow took a long swig from his flask, feeling the burn of the hard liquor as it went down his throat. They sat in silence for a long while, Jamnes lost in thought and Qrow content to let him be. It wasn’t everyday you found out the enemy of humanity was indestructible. 

“There must be something.” Ironwood finally said, ending the silence, “There must be something Oz never considered.”

“The question didn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation. Salem can’t be destroyed.”

“No, by Raven’s account Jinn said ‘You can’t.’  _ You  _ can’t. She was saying Ozpin could not destroy her. And that’s not saying she can’t be stopped, just not killed.” Ironwood was on a roll, his head was perked up and it looked like some vitality had returned to him. He never had been someone to give up easily. 

“You have a point,” Qrow allowed with a small nod, “But who could, if anyone? Oz wasn’t exactly weak, James.”

“I’m not sure yet, but it’s too soon to give up hope, that would only further Her goals. For now.” James stood up and looked out over his school, the students milling about in the courtyard, “For now we figure out how to stop Salem in her tracks. She may be immortal but her lieutenants aren’t.”

Qrow had to give him the point, as daunting as the information was, it changed little of what they had to do right then. They were already on the defensive. Of course it meant James had to rethink his plan but that didn’t mean it had to be wholly scrapped. Better to have the information now to plan for the future. Even weighed against the risk of Ironwood trying to take the Relic, it was better that they be upfront about it. Raven had been the one to convince him of that, warning him they didn’t want to act like Ozpin. 

Count on her to try and be the opposite of Oz. 

“There’s one question left.” Ironwood spun around to say something but Qrow held his hand out, “ And before you suggest we use it, let’s just take a long consideration on what to use it on. The thing only refreshes once a century. We’ll be long dead before another question comes along, none of us are excited about using it up.”

He looked like he might argue but instead cast his eyes downwards towards his desk, “Yes. It’s something we should think about carefully. I guess I have some plans to change, for now.” Running a hand down his face James looked to Qrow once again, “Still nothing from Ozpin?”

“Silent as a cemetery.” He shook his head, “Oscar says he can’t even feel the bastard, though I’m sure he’s still there.” 

“Even with everything he’s done, I would still have liked to ask his opinion. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers. We’ll just have to make do without him. I assume you still want to lock the Relic within Atlas’ vault?”

“Yeah, be safer that way.” 

James sighed, he’d been doing that a lot lately, “There’s one problem with that.” Qrow’s heart fell, “The Winter Maiden is stable but… in a coma. It’s likely she will never wake up.”

“Seriously?! When were you gonna-”

“Oz knew already.” James interrupted him.

“That machine.” Qrow’s eyes narrowed, “I always wondered why you built it. You were gonna use it on Fria, weren’t you?”

“Letting her pass in the state she’s in is a risky option. We hadn’t yet decided on the new Maiden at the time so when she went under… we were caught unprepared. If I could, I’d have Winter take the position, but now...” He shook his head.

“You can’t just transfer the powers to Winter anyways?” Qrow drained the last of his flask’s contents, wiping the dregs from his lips with his sleeve.

“We had something of a breakthrough during the development. A vessel capable of generating its own aura but was immune to the effects of age.”

It took Qrow only a few seconds to piece the picture together, “The Polendina girl, the robot. You were going to transfer it to her?”

“Exactly. The Vytal festival was meant to be a demonstration to Ozpin on the capabilities of Penny. After the end I was going to tell Oz about my plan.”

“But instead Fall stepped in to cause chaos.”

“Yes.” James’ fist tightened. “We were so close from never having to place this burden on a young woman ever again.”

“Sounds ideal. If it worked.” Qrow allowed.

“Yes. With Cinder’s intervention there was no telling if the exchange with Miss Nikos was going to work or not. The only solution now it to go ahead, and hope for the best.” James walked around his desk to a small standing cabinet and out from it’s interior he drew a never touched bottle of Atlesian Scotch and two tumblers. Pouring some out for the both of them he handed one to Qrow and cradled his own in his hands as he sat back behind his desk. Ironwood seemed to contemplate his drink before looking back at Qrow. 

“I’m just glad you’re here, Qrow, and that you decided to tell me the truth. Even with Winter and the others, it’s been trying, attempting to keep the kingdom afloat but also keep this secret.”

“I don’t envy you, James.” Qrow swirled the amber liquid around his glass before holding it out to his old friend, “To never giving up.”

James’ glass clinked against his, “And never surrendering.”

  
  


* * *

A lone amber eye stared at the reflection in the dimly lit bathroom, a black eyepatch over the other and covering the disfigured part of Cinder Fall’s face. Her top was removed and she ran a finger of her remaining hand along the dark, angry lines extending onto her chest. The Grimm-flesh her mistress had bestowed on her had consumed more, consuming more of her body to regrow itself and give her back the Grimm arm.

Slowly she wrapped the bandages around the new limb, covering it from view before pulling her top back on, her mantle covering her left side, bandaged arm hidden beneath it. It was an annoyance, having to rebandage the arm occasionally, but a necessity. The growth brought with it pain and sometimes blood as it expanded. It would not take her life, it was linked to her in a way that was symbiotic, but that didn’t make the process of making a new arm pleasant.

Her thoughts drifted back to the ones who had done this to her. Rose, for taking her original beauty, then Raven and Neopolitan for the events underneath Haven academy. Her Grimm arm tightened around the porcelain sink, cracking it. 

They were in Atlas, she knew. Adam and she had tracked them to the floating city. They had been so close at Argus and yet the Grimm attack had caused their plans to accelerate, through luck and skill they had managed to take advantage of the chaos to follow the group. 

She had still yet to fully plan out how to take her revenge, preferably after she had acquired the Winter Maiden’s powers. That was the reason why she was there. 

Cinder exited the bathroom, bandages snuggly in place once more, and made her way to just backstage, out of view of the audience. From behind she watched Adam give his speech, a considerable amount of nonsense, trying to convince the old veterans of the former White Fang in Atlas to join him. He’d asked for the strongest and the most belligerent of those that remained free after Atlas had crushed them. 

The thirty or so that had answered Adam’s call were the ones who hated Atlas the most, and the bull faunus was determined to use that to his advantage. Cinder couldn’t quite show her face at the meeting, they couldn’t know of her involvement but they also needed the leftover White Fang resources that this group had. 

Cinder felt something shift behind her and her body tensed as someone spoke.

“I spy with my little eye, something that starts with C!”

Cinder turned around and scowled at the speaker, “Tyrian.”

“Wrong!” The madman crowed, “Nice try. The word was Cinder.”

“What are you doing here?” She hissed, “You’re supposed to be in Vacuo!”

“I’m supposed to be wherever my Goddess needs me. You know that, Cinder.” Tyrain said like it was the most obvious thing in the world as he started pacing in front of her, his tail swaying lazily behind him.

“She’s moved the timetable?” Cinder’s eyes widened.

“She wasn’t happy to learn that Ozpin had taken the relic to Atlas.” He turned a snarling glare towards her and his voice turned to a growl, “A relic  _ you _ were supposed to retrieve!”

Cinder felt fear jolt through her, Tyrian was just crazy enough to try to kill her, especially if he thought it would serve Salem. 

“I didn’t come to find you because it’s what  _ I  _ wanted, but because someone  _ else  _ wished to speak with you.” Tyrian fished a scroll from his pocket, the screen already showing a call in progress though not who it was connected to. She had a feeling she knew who it was, she took the scroll and held it up to her ear.

“Hello dear Cinder.” The voice drawled through the tiny speakers.

“Watts, to what do I owe the pleasure.” Her voice told that it was anything but. 

“More like business really. I was looking through security footage in Mantle and imagine my surprise at seeing you walking around so brazenly.” His voice grated on her nerves, she could practically feel his smug smile through the scroll, “You see since our timetable has changed due to  _ someone’s  _ failure I find myself taking up their slack. Salem has ordered us not to assist you so I will tell you this. Do not get in our way. I know you, Cinder, the Winter Maiden is no longer yours.”

“The Maidens are mine, Watts! You have no right to-” Cinder cut her hand to the side.

“I have every right Cinder. I am acting on our Mistress’ will.” Watts cut her off, “You’ve failed and so has Salem’s trust in you. Someone else will become the Winter Maiden so stay away. But I’m nothing if not magnanimous. I have something you may want more than Winter.”

“What could you possibly have that would be worth a Maiden?” Cinder snarcked back.

“How about another Maiden?” Cinder tensed, “How about Spring? She’s the one who defeated you after all. I assume you want to repay the favor more than you want Winter.”

Cinder stopped as she considered the deal he had laid out before her. One the one hand finding the Winter Maiden would be difficult, especially without the help of Watts. The thought of revenge on Raven Branwen was incredibly tempting, as well. 

“Dealing with Ozpin and his group may well be your way back into the good graces of our Mistress. We know they still have Knowledge. If you… retrieved it from them and the powers of the Spring Maiden ended up in your possession as well? Well, I would think Salem would be delighted.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Watts was right, “Fine. I’ll play your game Watts.”

“I knew you would.” She didn’t think his smugness could have gotten any more intense but it did and she almost crushed the scroll in her hand, “Keep this scroll at hand. I’ll provide you information through it.”

Not seeing the point in the conversation anymore she ended the call abruptly, hanging up on the man before she really did destroy the scroll. Tyrian giggled in the deranged way he often did.

“Make sure to please our Goddess Cinder, or the next time I visit it won’t be for a conversation.” His tail swayed behind him as he walked away and back into the shadows. 

The only thing keeping her going was her singular hatred for Raven Branwen. She wouldn’t stop until the woman had her blade buried in her chest and the powers of Spring in her grasp.

* * *

Ruby panicked when a hand clamped around her mouth and she was dragged back into the body of the person that had gotten a hold of her. 

“Found you!” Yang’s voice dripped with honey and she had a saccharine smile plastered on her face that made Ruby struggle even further to escape her grasp, “Now now, Ruby. I’ve been looking all over for you. I thought we’d have a nice, sister to sister conversation. Doesn’t that sound great?”

Ruby shook her head violently from side to side.

“Great! I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.” Yang ignored her sister. 

Yang dragged her sister to a nearby classroom, and wasn’t conversations in empty classrooms quickly becoming a thing. Once released Ruby’s eyes darted around the room but with Yang blocking the only exit she was stuck, she couldn’t overpower her sister without Crescent Rose or at least Rose Thorn.

“Ruby I’m not mad.”

That made her little sister freeze in confusion, silver eyes glanced up suspiciously, “You’re not?”

“Not.. not anymore.” Yang looked away, feeling slightly awkward. It was a little weird to talk about the guy they both liked, “I lost my temper, but I kind of understand what happened.”

“I didn’t mean to kiss him!” Ruby pleaded, “It just happened. I thought we were gonna die and -” 

She was cut off as Yang rushed at her, flinching she held her hands out to ward her off but froze as her sister enveloped her in a tight hug.

“I know Ruby.” Yang whispered, “I talked to Jaune and it made me realize something. You’ve been pushing us together for a long time, haven’t you?” Yang held Ruby at arms length and received her answer when she avoided eye contact, eyes skating across the floor instead. She touched her forehead to Ruby’s and whispered, “You idiot. I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

“I’m the one that should apologize, Yang. After all…. I have feelings… for…”

“Jaune.” Yang finished for her and received a small nod from the younger girl. Exasperated Yang shook her head, golden locks dancing in the limited light of the classroom, “You should’ve just gone for it, but, I’m kind of glad you didn’t.” When Ruby raised an eyebrow she smiled back apologetically, “Sorry Sis, he’s mine now.”

A bitter smile spread across the younger sister’s face and yang pulled her back into a tight hug, “I’m sorry I’m hurting you like this. I love you, Ruby, and nothing will ever change that.”

Slowly small hands wrapped around her back and finally Ruby returned the embrace. 

“I love you too, Yang. That’s why I want you to be happy.” Yang could hear the slight wobble in her voice and it made her grip her even tighter.

They stayed like that for a time, Yang couldn’t tell if Ruby was crying or not but she started feeling better. Normally she could read the girl like a book, so her being able to keep her feelings from her for almost a year made her think that maybe she was finally growing up. 

It was a shame there weren't two Jaunes, Ruby and he would have made a cute couple. She could imagine the two fumbling around each other and it brought a smile to her face. There was no use spending too much time on what ifs, however, and eventually the sisters pulled apart.

An idea suddenly occurred to Yang, “Hey Rubes, wanna go swimsuit shopping?”

Ruby looked at her like she was crazy and she laughed it off.

“Well you see, the Academy has a heated indoor pool so I was thinking that when Jaune finally gets his cast off in a couple of days we could all go swimming. I’ve heard it’s great for therapy.”

She nodded along, “Okay.” She relented with a small voice. 

Yang wouldn’t mention her sister's red rimmed eyes. Hopefully everything was back to normal now.


	35. Scars, Old and New

“I can’t believe your sister is paying for all of us!” Ruby exclaimed, “I mean me and Yang were just gonna take Uncle Qrow’s booze money but this is so much cooler!” 

Smirking and tilting her head up Weiss replied smugly, “Well Winter  _ is  _ being rather generous. Though she practically ordered me to go clothes shopping with her card once she found out I only had one outfit.”

The sleek monorail car they were in jostled slightly as it turned a bend, the glimmering Atlas skyline visible from the interior as buildings flew by. The hum of the carriage vibrated the deck as the rail took the transport up and around the city. Atlas, when it was founded, had learned many lessons from Mantle. One of which was planning for a metropolis, space was important and doubly so for a floating city, no expense had been spared on the public transportation system. They couldn’t expand so massive highways were avoided and the monorail system was developed. Only the richest of Atlesian citizens owned personal vehicles. Even then most places were passages at best and couldn’t fit the average automobile, the city was designed in hubs with walking to a destination being the best process. As such the city tended to seem claustrophobic to outsiders.

“I swear to any gods out there, Neo, that if you touch my hair I will end you.” Yang growled, shooting a glare at the small woman next to her, though the girl in question merely raised an eyebrow in response to what was most likely an empty threat. Not that Yang wouldn’t try, everyone just doubted on her ability to carry out said threat. 

Neopolitan was an enigma, and thankfully one their other companions, Cole and Neon, didn’t inquire about. Whether that was because of tact or that they just plain didn’t care was up in the air, though Weiss would probably bet her money on Cole for the former and Neon for the latter. Either way she’d been delightfully surprised when Winter had come by with the pair and suggested the outing citing that it would be for the best for the teams to get acquainted with Atlas. Well, Winter had suggested they go out and that she get some replacements but it had been Yang who hijacked that into a shopping trip surprise for the swimming pool. After all none of them had brought swimwear and while all the men were easy to shop for, female swimsuits were far more complicated. 

Thus had they set out on a destination with the help of Neon and Neopolitan just slipping into the group though by this point no one really batted an eye. Neo did what she wanted and thankfully had proven herself to be on relatively best behaviour, though she seemed to get her kicks out of antagonizing Yang. It was nice to see the blonde getting the brunt of the teasing for a change but Weiss was beginning to feel sorry for her teammate. 

Through some miracle the tram slid to a gentle stop and the intercom dinged, listing their destination and the group had to file off into the plaza. She was thankful that the only man in the party was Flynnt by virtue of being their guide, she didn’t know if she could trust Neon not to lead them on some grand adventure without someone to keep her on track, with Oscar and Ren staying behind to distract Jaune. This was, after all, supposed to be a surprise party for when he got his cast off in a couple days. Nora had been conflicted about coming along, reluctant to leave Ren’s side until she was lured away with the promise of picking out the boys’ trunks. 

Weiss desperately hoped she knew what she was doing imagining all sorts of crimes against fashion that would have Coco fainting.

The shopping district was arranged in growing circles with the tram station in the center, raised up a good way into the air to allow foot traffic underneath. The circle grew and grew until it met the border of the industrial and housing districts. The department store they were going to was located at NE4-6, which meant the Northeast quadrant, fourth ring, sixth suite. Atlas was nothing if not efficient. The store, named HunterPro, was a combination of a few other, smaller, businesses catered towards Hunter gear. The massive building, seven stories, had a different purpose for every floor. There was the general goods and dust on the first floor, a third party vendor for SDC dust, after that it apparently started with general clothes for women and men for the next two floors. These clothes were tear and puncture resistant, made with expensive materials which made them only affordable by huntsmen or the elite. Ostentatious and usually bold there were dozens of brands stocked on those floors due to a Hunter’s penchant for wanting to stand out. The floor after was a specialized Hunter tailor who could modify any clothes purchased below or make an outfit from scratch. This method was much more expensive than the brands the store sold but again, Hunters usually had flair.

The fifth floor, their destination, concentrated on athletic wear. The brands were popular enough and with it all being in the same building it sold well enough to get it’s own floor. The top two floors held a weapon hall and forge. There you could order a tailor weapon, get if fixed, or get replacement and upkeep parts.

Better not let Ruby up there or they’d never see her again. 

To Weiss’ relief there wasn’t a no faunus sign next to the door either. Her eyes slid her Bake’s head, the familiar bow making a reappearance for the first time in a long time and while her teammate didn’t catch her, someone else did. 

Showing a surprising amount of social awareness, Neon sidled up to the heiress and whispered, “HunterPro gets a ton of business from Atlas Academy, if they discriminated against faunus the General would boycott the place. The headmaster isn’t afraid to throw his weight around for his students, not that there’s a lot of faunus at the academy.”

“Then why hide?” Weiss asked, nodding towards Neon who herself had hidden her tail around her waist, under her jacket.

“It’s easier.” she shrugged, “You’re with Atlas students so you’d be unlikely to get harassed, nor would I, but this way we don’t have to deal with it at all.”

“You shouldn’t  _ have  _ to do it at all!” The heiress harrumphed.

“That’s not important right now!” Neon looped her arm with Weiss’, “It’s time for swimsuits!” She led the charge into the store, dragging a sputtering and indignant girl behind her. 

-SY-

All in all Yang felt pretty great, even if Neo was pestering her in the beginning the woman had disappeared into the racks when they’d gotten to the fifth floor. Even Vale didn’t have a store as big as HunterPro but Atlas seemed to be more compact than Vale. A flying island would do that for you. 

The athletic wear was top notch even if the price tags made her eyes bug out a little. Though the section for more leisurely outfits was more on the affordable side. The girls had split up among the racks looking for specific things. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a cute little one piece in black and red that would be perfect for Ruby and snagged it. Doubtless the girl would pick just about anything, but Yang wanted her sister to look good, not like someone who didn’t put in effort. 

It wasn’t like she wanted to dress up Rubes, not at all.

Before she could move on something blue was shoved in her face and when she brought it away she discovered it was a bikini. And her size. With an accusing look she glared at Nora, the guilty party not batting an eyelash at her expression and a huge grin on her face. Having known the excitable girl as long as she had, it sent shivers down her spine.

“I found something for you!” Nora declared in a singsong voice, “I was picking out something for Jaune and thought you guys should match! So I grabbed this!”

Nora held out a pair of lilac men’s trunks, the same shade as her eyes, and that was when she noticed that the bikini in her hands was the same shade as Jaune’s eyes. Her cheeks flushed at the implications. Sure they were dating but this? It was like getting couple’s bracelets or something. It was embarrassing though a small part of her said Jaune would look good in her colors. Yang tried to squash it but it seemed to be winning, winning enough for her to admit defeat and promise to try it one, though looking at the tag she had to wonder how Nora had managed to get her size exactly right. 

Making her way to the changing rooms, snagging a lilac bikini on the way, she ran into Weiss. To no one’s surprise she held an ice blue one piece swimsuit with frills at the waist and chest. 

“I think that’s a little small for you.” Weiss said, nodding at the suit Yang had picked for her sister, red with black polka dots and a matching skirt.

“It’s for Rubes. These are for me.” Yang held up the other two suits she had. 

As one they checked in with the employee at the changing rooms and went into their respective stalls. The area itself was roomy, square with stalls lining the sides and a sitting bench in the middle and mirrors in the stalls. It didn’t take long for Yang to change into the blue suit and true to the tag it fit snugly. The color itself wasn’t a uniform shade but rather a vivid blue that faded to blake near the bottom of both pieces. It looked good and she found herself impressed with Nora’s fashion sense. The gradient made it not look too simple whilst still not overly fancy. Blue matched well with her golden hair and also would complicate Jaune’s eyes, just as Nora had said.

There was one problem, however, and it ran ugly across her chest. A still vivid scar from sternum to hip. Though it had faded some, the scar itself was an angry red line and stood out against her skin. 

“Hey Weiss?” She called out across the stalls, getting a noncommittal hum in reply, “Think I should go with a one piece too?” Absently she traced a finger along it. She never gave it too much thought, even when it itched, but it was always hidden under her clothes. This would be the first time she showed Jaune and she didn’t know why but she was apprehensive towards doing it.

“With your, ugh, curves?” Weiss’ tone told her what she thought about the idea. Yang could pull off almost any swimsuit, she knew she looked good, but not maximizing on her own style? Even the heiress would call bullshit, “That suit would hardly look hideous on you. Let me see it.”

She couldn’t hide in the stall could she? No that was stupid. Weiss knew about scars, after all she had one on her own face and it wasn’t like her team hadn’t seen hers already. With a quick, fortifying, breath she exited the stall to find her teammate standing there, hands on hips, in the swimsuit she’d chosen. It had been a good choice, Yang approved of it. But she was getting distracted and the girl’s narrowed eyes said as much.

“What’s wrong with it? It’s fine. Better than fine, actually.” Weiss grudgingly admitted. 

“It’s not the suit.” Yang forced out, “It’s the, uh, the scar.” It was embarrassing to admit, she had her credibility as the team badass to uphold but if anyone would understand it was Weiss. Though the more she thought of it the more she came to realize her entire team could sympathize. Ruby was missing her arm and although prosthetics weren’t entirely rare with their profession it still drew a lot of attention. It had taken months for her sister to grow accustomed to the gazes of others and not let it affect her. Blake, although her situation was vastly different, could relate with her faunus ears. She got stares for entirely different reasons but she could still relate, in a way. 

“I thought you didn’t care?” Weiss asked, one eyebrow going up. Though her expression was incredulous it held a tinge of sympathy, as though she already understood what Yang was about to say.

“I didn’t. I wouldn’t but… well… Jaune.” She finished in an uncharacteristically meek fashion. 

“You realize that idiot will probably be so busy trying _ not  _ to look at you that he won’t notice? Or even if he does he won’t care?” Weiss was unimpressed but her expression soon softened, “After all he did fancy me at first, and I did have this.” She put her hand up to her left eye, the faded scar from her fight with an Arma Gigas and a permanent reminder. 

“I  _ know  _ that but still, I feel nervous about it.”

Weiss rolled her eyes before sighing, her expression changed slightly like she was looking into the distance, “My father, once I defeated that Gigas, told me ‘Maybe it’s better off you’re going to Beacon, I doubt you’ll find many suitors like this.’”

Yang’s eyes widened and she swore, blood instantly boiling and she could feel her eyes starting to change.  _ How dare he!  _ No one talked that way about her team. Weiss could see the shift and swiftly went over, laying a hand on her arm. 

“It’s fine, Yang. It was ages ago and I’ve long since stopped caring about what he says.” Weiss smiled at her and it had her nodding along. 

Before she could say that if he ever said something like that in front of her, she’d show him where he could stick his pompous opinions, a figure stuck her head into the changing area. They’d been stood there for a while, it was a wonder they hadn’t been interrupted yet.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Blake asked, a small, cheeky smile on her face. 

“Only if you aren’t joining in.” Yang grinned back.

“Yang!” Weiss gasped and rushed to explain, “This brute was just worrying about what her boyfriend would think about her scar. I think it was about to overwork her last brain cell.”

“Scar?” A shadow passed over the faunus’ face, “The one Adam gave you?” 

It was clear that it still bothered her from the way her eyes cast downward and her ears flattened atop her head. 

“H-hey relax. It’s all in the past now.” Yang tried to head off the heavy atmosphere but it looked like she was too late. They had never really appropriately talked about the subject. Her nearly dying at the hands of Blake’s ex. But it was nothing. She didn’t blame the girl for it happening but it looked like Blake still did. 

“No. I never said it and I should have when we met up again.” Blake looked her dead in the eyes, “I’m sorry Yang. I’m sorry I brought my past into this and I’m sorry for running. You needed me and so did Ruby.”

Yang pulled her partner into a hug, the tears in Blake’s eyes just too much for her to handle, “It’ll be fine Blake. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

Yang tried to push the awkwardness of hugging someone while half naked aside as she closed her eyes. It wasn’t fine but it would have to be. Blake had betrayed her in spite of knowing the issues she had with Raven. She should have known better, what it would do to her and their relationship as partners. 

But she could set all of that aside in favor of getting her partner back. This sudden and short apology had been both what she’d been looking for and what she had dreaded from the moment Blake had come back. There was a reason they’d never had it in the first place.

Put in short, Yang had been avoiding it. Back in Mistral she’d shouted and said some hurtful things, though it had all been glossed over the next morning by what happened between her and Jaune. They’d forgotten about it for the most part but Blake had tried to bring it back several times and Yang didn’t want to deal with it. 

This time she’d been ambushed and it had come so quickly she’d been blindsided. Eventually she knew she’d have to end this one sided grudge with Blake. Though it didn’t mean she’d trust the girl right away. That would take time. Time and proof that Blake was there to stay. 

Yang was telling the truth about one thing, however. The most important thing was that she was there now, and hopefully not going anywhere. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a whole lot happened this chapter but it was a necessary scene. Some worldbuilding and the start of Yang and Blake fixing their partnership. With Yang’s issues she never really quite forgave Blake for running but it was just overshadowed by other things. 
> 
> Maybe the last line sounds a little foreboding and I do promise that there’s a lot more to unfold in Atlas. After all this is the final arc of my story. How many chapters are left? I dunno, however many are needed but what’s important is that the end is in sight. I’d love to just put all my other projects aside and focus on finishing this but I think my readers of the other projects would get mad. 
> 
> If you’re interested in how far the arc is progressed we are still in the very beginning of the Atlas arc. After all Cinder, Adam, and Watts are out plotting their plots to who know what’ nefarious ends, but none of their plans have been enacted quite yet. 
> 
> I hope you all are as excited as I am for this. I’ve been waiting to start this arc for a very long time. Since I planned the ending for this story in fact.


	36. Courtesy Call

36

Courtesy Call

* * *

Jacques Schnee’s hands trembled as he avoided slamming them on the desk in front of him, his teeth grit as he glared at the man on the screen in front of him. General Ironwood sat unfazed on the other side, his voice coming through clearly on the very expensive call system attached to the Schnee patriarch’s terminal in his private study. 

“Don’t play dumb with me, James.” Jacques continued once he’d gotten his temper under control. Normally such a display would never be a risk but the past few months, and Ironwood himself, had been testing the limits of his patience, “One of our old mining colonies lit up the other day. It’s supposed to be abandoned but now I apparently have squatters on SDC property! There’s no way the Atlesian military is so incompetent that you wouldn’t notice.”

“ _I wouldn’t say we’re incompetent, Jacques._ ” Ironwood grumbled. It sounded like he had words but held them back, “ _We noticed but frankly we have better things to do than to chase people out of abandoned areas_.”

“And the fact that these people got past your blockade?” 

“ _Is something we will be looking into. I’m sorry but I need to go now, Jacques. It’s been a pleasure._ ” His tone indicated it was anything but and Jacques could agree. With a frustrated push of a button, the video winked out and returned the terminal to his desktop. The ice in his tumbler clinked against the rim as he took a long drought from the amber liquid there, it burned down his throat like a good Scotch should. 

His attention returned to his other guest and what a surprise the guest was. Arthur Watts back from the dead. Certainly it was unfortunate to learn the man had died in an accident some years ago, it looked like there was more to the story. Regardless the two had been acquaintances, sharing a drink on occasion the brilliant man had been responsible for much of Atlas’ superior robotics alongside Doctor Polendina and their team. 

Obviously Watts had his own motives. No one just faked their own death, not without a reason. It wasn’t his business, what was his business was the information Arthur had brought to his attention. Several days ago an old mining facility out on the tundra had gone active, the communications suite had reconnected to the SDC network for a short time before going offline again. The older tech had tried to connect to Atlas but had failed and connected to the Mantle network instead which was operating until they could update other old facilities to newer technology. What Arthur was doing snooping around in the reserve network he didn’t know but would let it slide, for the moment. 

“You were right.” Was all that Jacques said.

“Of course.” Arthur drawled, “To be completely honest, I cannot come out with any evidence against Ironwood due to… obvious reasons. But I _can_ pass it to you.”

“Evidence you say?” This did indeed intrigue him as his hand came up to stroke his mustache, deep in thought, “ What kind?”

Arthur smiled, his hands steepled before him, “I know who has taken up residence in your mining camp, and so does Ironwood.” His grin widened when he saw Jacques’ eyes narrow, “Yes I’d go so far as to say Ironwood was complicite. Raven Branwen and her tribe of bandits.”

“Branwen…” The Schnee rolled the name around for a moment, remembering distant information, “They were a blight in Anima, weren’t they?”

“Indeed. I can provide evidence that Ironwood has been seen meeting with Raven Branwen personally. I’m sure that would be quite the valuable bit of information, especially with the upcoming election.”

“Yes. Yes it would. What do you want in return?” Jacques knew how things worked. Arthur hadn’t come to give this to him for free. 

“For now, nothing. The ideal payment would be seeing Ironwood removed from the council.” 

A favor, then. Rather vague and not something Jacques was in the habit of handing out but this evidence could secure the council seat and see James removed. It was a favor worth far more than it looked on the surface. With Ironwood gone, so too would his sanctions meaning the SDC could stop hemorrhaging money and return to making a tidy profit. 

“Very well then, Arthur. I assume the information is on your scroll?”

Watts nodded and handed his scroll to Jacques after bringing up the relevant files on it. Placing it on the desk, his console automatically identifying the device and connecting to it after authorization. Transfer only took a few moments and he handed the device back to its owner.

“It’s been a pleasure Jacques.” Watts held his hand out.

“It has, Arthur, I’m glad you are still alive. You always were the most brilliant mind in Atlas.” Jacques took the offered hand and shook it. A little flattery could go a long way, “It’s a shame you can’t come to the charity event I’m hosting next week. It’s going to be the perfect platform to address this issue with Ironwood.”

Arthur released his hand and straightened his coat, “A charity ball you say? That is a shame, Jacques, you always hosted the finest parties. I’ll be in touch.”

Jacques watched as the man left before sitting back down at his desk and opening the new information he’d just obtained. A picture of a striking woman dressed in red and black filled his screen, standing next to James in a photo that could only have been taken on Atas Academy grounds. How the man had gotten his hands on it were beyond him but he was glad it had found its way into his lap.

_It’s always about who you know, isn’t it?_

-SY-

Arthur Watts paused as the door to Jacques’ study clicked shut quietly. He brought one of his scrolls out from his jacket and thumbed it open to see a notification that brought a smile to his face.

**New connection established**

Now he was connected to Jacques’ terminal and through it the SDC, which had also been upgraded after the beacon incident to the new network. He hated to admit it but Cameron McCloud was just as brilliant as he when it came to programming. It would have taken him months of work to crack into the new Atlesian systems, but if he had a backdoor like access to the SDC? Well it would make much shorter work of giving him free reign in Atlas

_A charity ball, eh? Well it looks like you’ll be paying back that favor sooner rather than anticipated._

Watts hummed to himself, pleased that things were going so well. Soon enough he found a message from Jacques to his secretary, it was a guest list. Arthur couldn’t attend himself but surely his old friend wouldn’t mind an alteration?

-SY-

The first thing Ruby noticed when Jaune walked into the enormous pool room was his new scar. It was mottled pink, the main mass of tissue the size of her fist with snaking tendrils reaching out from it in every direction. It was easy to see what the Grimm parasite had attempted to do to him, she shuddered at the thought. If she had been a little bit later in using her eyes, she shook her head to clear away the bad thoughts. Jaune was alive. He was okay and right there. 

And he was looking at her.

Ruby couldn’t help it and did what she always did. Panic, “Better! You’re all Jaune!”

It took a moment to sink in but an embarrassed flush creeped across her neck and she wished she had her hood to hide in. Settling for covering her face with one hand and flailing the other about she cringed at the roaring laughter coming from her own sister as the woman in question slung an arm around Ruby. Even Jaune was chuckling as she wished a hole would open up beneath her feet and swallow her. 

“I’m glad you’re better!” She eventually shouted, though she knew the worst was to come from Yang.

“He _is_ all Jaune.” She said, tightening her grip so Ruby couldn’t escape.   
  
_Drats!_ Cursing internally her brain finally noticed something. 

She was in a swimsuit. 

In front of Jaune.

Ruby would have killed to have her cape back, to disappear back into the lockers and never be seen again. It was made all the worse with the suit that Yang had forced one her, the small, frilly skirt was at least some semblance of familiarity. Feeling the flush continue to spread she decided to enact her back up strategy.

Hide behind Yang. 

In a burst of rose petals, her sister lost her grip as she disappeared behind her bigger sibling. A lone silver eye peered out from behind the glorious golden locks as Yang cackled louder with Jaune trying, and failing, to hide his own laughter.

“You suck.” Ruby complained to either, or rather both, of them.

“Relax Ruby.” Yang finally stopped laughing but the mirth was still dancing in her eyes, and the bright smile she wore, “You don’t have to be so embarrassed in front of us. It was just a little slip.”

“But that’s _why_ it’s so embarrassing.” She whined back. In a desperate attempt to take the attention away from her she grasped at a change in topic, “Jaune! Don’t you have something to say to Yang?” 

Jaune looked between the two of them, confused for a moment as Ruby silently gestured at her sister and Yang, knowing what Ruby was getting at, suddenly became more bashful. There was no mistaking the flicker of her lilac eyes conveying the hope of what she wanted to hear. When he finally caught on, Jaune looked her up and down before realizing he did and looking away. Ever the gentlemen the gesture had Ruby almost giggle. 

_I wish he’d look at me like- No, no no!_

That thought was dangerous. 

However her gambit had borne fruit, “You look good, Yang.”

“Good?” Like a cat seeing a mouse move, Yang perked up, virtually pouncing on his words, “Is that _all_?”

With a massive grin on her face, she moved in for the kill, Jaune turning his head, obviously confused as to where he could look with all of the tantalizing flesh on display. If Ruby noticed then it was obvious to her sister and that had the girl zeroing in on him even more. His fate was sealed. 

“You’re stunning.” Jaune mumbled and it was enough to have Yang stop in her tracks. 

Yang was used to compliments. Ruby had heard them all before, the different adjectives often ascribed to her sister. Stunning, gorgeous, beautiful, bombshell. Her sister had heard it all before from guys only into her looks. But the look on Yang’s face when Jaune said that? It was priceless. It looked like fishing for compliments had backfired on her but she did notice the pleased smile creep across her stunned face.

“You’re not so bad yourself, ladykiller.” Yang winked and slowly slid her eyes up and down, milking the moment for all it was worth and ending it with a growl, “Definitely need to stop hiding under that hoodie.”

“Yeah well I have reason to now, don’t I?” 

Yang frowned a bit and even Ruby felt like she should take offense to that.

“So should I hide behind a hoodie?” Yang asked, her hand coming to the scar on her own chest, the one that was on display for all to see. All the more Ruby started feeling a twinge from her missing arm. 

“What no!” Jaune backtracked his arms coming up and it was then that Yang struck, hand lashing out in the blink of an eye to catch his. She could see the panic in his eyes and could admit to some shock as her sister brought his hand to her chest, right to the ling thing scar she sported. He flinched when he felt it, though Yang showed no reaction.

She suspected Yang knew he wasn’t flinching at her scar but rather how close his hand was to one of her most prominent attributes. They both stood as still as statues for a few moments before his face erupted scarlet. 

“Yang what are you doing!?” His voice rose several octaves as he tried to pull it back only to have Yang catch his other hand and pull him closer, her face close to his and despite Ruby suppressing her own laughter at Jaune, her sister’s face was set in stone with a slight frown.

“My scar. Your scar. Ruby’s arm-” Ruby flinched, “-are all things we obtained from our choices in our lives.” Releasing one of his hands, her own came up to rest lightly on his still healing scar, “You got this defending my sister.” She squeezed the hand still touching her scar, “I got this trying to save Blake from Adam.” She turned to look at Ruby, who wanted to hide even more, “And Ruby lost her arm trying to save Pyrrha. Should we be ashamed of those actions?”

“Of course not!” Jaune looked appalled at the very idea.

“Then why hide the results of those actions?” 

The question left Jaune speechless, he contemplated, staring at her scar and even running his thumb over it. Ruby noticed how Yang shivered under his touch and even the splash of red creeping up her neck. Before the younger sister could call her out on it they were interrupted.

“You were getting flirty and forgot to invite us?!” Nora screached, dramatically holding her hands over her heart, “I thought we were friends!”

“Nora I don’t think friends invite friends to that sort of thing.” Ren’s eyes narrowed as Nora opened her mouth, “And _you_ had better not invite anyone, either.”

“Oh?” She tilted her head to the side, “Invite anyone to _what_ Renny?”

The quiet man leaned over and whispered into her ear, Nora’s face quickly flushing at whatever it was Ren had said to her. By the time he leaned away she was off in her own little world, giggling to herself. One by one the others started filing out of the locker rooms, dressed in their own swimming suits. 

Blake had on a simple black and white bikini, a very Blake choice since she didn’t seem to be someone who wanted to be noticed much. Not that it stopped her from turning heads. Neon had on a eyesore of a bright one piece suit that looked a patchwork of neon colors, how she found something like that mystified Ruby. Cole was in black trousers, accented with white.

“Weiss?!” Ruby choked as her eyes bulged at her partner who emerged last from the lockers.

Hair in a long braid, Weiss was dressed in the smallest, most revealing bikini Ruby had ever seen. It was more string than cloth and she heard a smack as Yang covered Jaune’s eyes. There was a similar reaction from Nora as she grabbed Ren’s face and hugged it into her bosom, where he started struggling to get away, or breath. A slow, sensual smirk came from the ex-heiress as she put a hand on her hip, a voice screeching from the lockers.

“NEOPOLITAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” A furious, red faced Weiss came storming from the lockers, dressed in an ice blue one-piece. Her mistake was trying to grab hold of Not-Weiss who pieroetted around, her foot catching Weiss’ ankle and with a yelp the white-haired girl splashed into the pool. When she came up she was spitting and hissing about getting revenge. With a snap of her fingers, Not-Weiss shattered into the form of Neo wearing a tritone bikini in her signature colors, the sound of glass tinkling as the girl bent over laughing silently.

Jaune smiled wryly as Yang took her hand back. They both looked relieved and, if Ruby wasn’t imagining it, a little more relaxed. At least until arms hooked around Yang’s middle, causing her to tense up. A grinning Nora poked her head around the side.

“Let’s get this party started!” She shouted as she tightened her grim, hands linking just under Yang’s breasts.

The blonde’s eyes went wide, “Nora don’t you-!” 

She was cut off as Nora lifted the girl up, suplexing them both straight into the pool. Jaune and Ren looked at each other with the latter shrugged and calmly got into the pool. Ruby looked to Jaune and he looked back at her. There was nothing else to do so they both jumped in after. The water was a shock to her system, while heated it was still fairly cold. Her head broke the surface and she shook her head, wet hair flying around her head. 

When was the last time she’d been swimming? Five years ago? Six? She couldn’t remember but thankfully her body did. It came to her as naturally as if she’d done it yesterday and it felt great. 

-SY-

Ruby pulled herself out of the pool, muscles exhausted after spending hours in the pool. By this point it was empty save four people. She and Weiss had just been eliminated, her dainty partner succumbing to Yang bearing down on them both with the height advantage Jaune posed. Blake never participated, opting instead to read by the side of the pool and Neo had been a menace on her own, pulling on ankles whenever someone was distracted. 

Ren stood in the center, water up to shoulders as Nora rode upon them, his hands holding firmly onto his knees. Face blank but a competitive gleam in his eyes he stared down Jaune who was a dozen feet from him, Yang perched upon his shoulders, glaring down her opponent. 

“I’m queen of this castle!” Nora harrumphed and crossed her arms.

“Queen Nora!” Yang pointed dramatically out at her, “This is the day you fall to the might of Queen Yang and Castle Jaune!”

Both ‘castles’ could be seen rolling their eyes.

Ruby sat on the sidelines watching the clash of the ages as the two teams collided. In terms of power both Yang and Nora were pretty evenly matched. Hand in hand the two tried to overpower the other and push them into the water, their mounts having trouble keeping them balanced and holding on for dear life. 

Suddenly Yang reversed, pulling the ginger forward and twisting her arms. With her arms locked with Yang’s it was all Nora could do to clamp down on Ren with her legs to avoid spilling into the pool. With tremendous strength the sat upright and pulled Yang back into their stalemate position before, with a yelp from both Ren and Jaune, everyone’s head disappeared beneath the surface. 

Pink and brown was the first to rise and the mischievous grin on Neo’s face spoke of exactly who had interrupted the fight. A glaring Yang and Nora resurfaced and both made to tackle the diminutive girl. Her arms held up like a champion in victory she shattered as the two butted heads, meeting in the middle and catching nothing but each other. 

“Hey.” Jaune said as he pulled up beside Ruby, hauling himself up to sit next to her. 

“Hey, Jaune. Have fun?” She asked, eyes catching the way the rivulets of pool water dripped down him.

He chuckled, “Yeah, it was fun. Did you?”

Nodding Ruby looked out as Neon jumped back into the pool to taunt Nora and Yang, “I don’t have the same stamina so I’m pretty tuckered out.”

“Yeah, I think we’ll all sleep soundly tonight.” Jaune agreed.

Silence fell down around them, this time no longer comfortable but rather awkward. Ruby felt a compulsion to fill it with something, anything, but was beaten to it by Jaune.

“Hey Ruby?” He started and when she looked at him he continued, one hand scratching behind his head, “About… about before. In the woods.”

Her stomach roiled and heart pumped. She felt like running and hiding, but she couldn’t do that. This was Jaune, her friend, “What about it?”

Jaune looked nervous, he glanced around, making sure no one was near to overhear.

“You told me to forget it.” He finally answered, eyes her locked on his legs, “But I can’t. I feel bad, because I’ve left it hanging for so long.”

Panic threatened to overtake Ruby, “No! It’s okay. I don’t need some kind of closure or anything Jaune! Just… just take care of Yang.”

“Ruby.” Jaune turned his head to look her in the eyes and she felt the heat rise in her. His expression was sad, pained, “I think we do. Both of us. You are my friend. My first real friend and I treasure you. I love you, Ruby. But not like that.”

She sat there for a moment, a stone like weight settling in her stomach, as if she were falling. She’d known. Of course she’d known. Ruby had seen the way Jaune looked at Yang, and the way her sister looked at him. She’d known but deep down she’d hoped that if there was never an answer then she wouldn’t have to feel this way. That she could keep on loving him.

Of course that couldn’t last. 

Maybe that is what he’d meant. That it was unhealthy to hold onto these feelings. 

At the moment? She couldn’t care. She felt like she was torn in half and she could see in his eyes how much he hated doing what he was doing. Hurriedly she looked away and took a deep breath. Several, even. She was fine. Better than fine. She wouldn’t let this come between the two of them. He cared about her, said so himself. So what if he didn’t think of her that way she was still precious to him. 

That’s what she told herself.

With one final, deep, breath she turned back to him with a gentle smile on her face, “I know. That’s why I said to forget it.”

He looked relieved, and smiled back, “Good. I just wanted to clear the air. I don’t want anything to come between us.”

Her heart twisted, “Neither do I!” Stretching her arms over her head she stood up, “I think I’ll go take a shower now, I’m pretty tired.”

He looked a little disappointed but nodded all the same, waving, “I’ll stay here ‘till Yang gets tired of trying to throttle Neo.”

With a wave and a smile Ruby hurried back to the lockers but never made it to the shower. Instead she collapsed into one of the benches, unable to bear it anymore and unable to hide it. Slowly her face scrunched up, and her throat tightened. She opened her mouth but no sound came out, too choked up to even sob as the tears started welling up in her eyes. With large, shuddering breaths, Ruby began to cry. 

She sat there letting the tears fall. She didn’t know why it hurt so much. It was expected. She knew it was going to end up like that. Jaune loved Yang and Yang loved Jaune. She could see it, everyone could. So why did it hurt so much to hear it put to words? Had she really not given up on him?

“Ruby?” She started as someone called her name and standing there in the entrance to the lockers was Weiss, her expression one of shock turning to rage upon seeing her crying state, “Ruby?! What happened? Are you okay?” Her partner rushed up to take a seat on the bench next to her, fussing over her incessantly.

“‘M fine, Weiss.” Ruby got out through heaving breaths. She felt ashamed of her partner seeing her like that but her attempt to avert her eyes was thwarted by Weiss forcefully grabbing her cheeks and moving her head so their eyes met.

“Don’t lie to me, Rose! You’re obviously not fine.” The angry glare in those piercing crystal blue eyes made her want to shrivel up.

“I’ll be fine.” She answered more carefully.

With a rather suspicious glare, Weiss let go, “Who did this? Was it Neo?” Ruby shook her head, “Jaune?” Weiss caught the hesitation and stood with deadly determination and almost made it to the door if Ruby had not grabbed her wrist and held her back.

“What are you doing Ruby?! I’m going out there and giving him the lecture he deserves! How dare he make my partner cry!” Weiss tugged back on her arm but Ruby wouldn’t budge.

In the misery she was experiencing a small bundle of warmth flowered in her chest. When she thought of Weiss, she almost couldn’t remember the insufferable girl she’d once been. Now it was all replaced by this fiercely protective woman in front of her. Friends were family to Weiss and it felt amazing that she would show so much care for Ruby. It made everything feel just a little bit better. 

“It’s not Jaune’s fault.” Ruby got her partner’s attention, who finally stopped trying to leave and listened, instead, “It was my fault for falling for him. Of course I'd feel like this if he didn’t feel the same.”

Weiss’ eyes softened and her expression fell from one of anger to one of sadness, “Ruby… I’m so sorry.” 

Ruby leaned her forehead on her shoulder, “Don’t say that Weiss. I’ll be fine, I just need time. And a distraction.”

Slowly Weiss nodded, gaining a little confidence from the suggestion, “I can provide that. This one time we can go get some cookies. It’ll be my treat.”

The distraction had worked and with a great exhalation she let go with it the dregs of her bad feelings. It wouldn’t do for her to mope about and dwell on things. Instead she’d distract herself and try and get over it and the first step towards that would be to go out on a partner’s night and get some u healthy snack foods.

“Alright! I think we can take the transit out to the public sector and find a good bakery, let us get cleaned up. I refuse to let those chemicals sit in my hair a moment longer.” Weiss strolled over to the locker where she’d stored her belongings, setting her neatly folded garments out before removing her scroll, stopping for a moment as she noticed the notification light. Extending the screen she looked at the message, “What?!” 

“What’s up?” Ruby asked and looked over her shoulder, the warm steam from the shower she’d just turned on.

“It’s… an invitation. From my father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe I had so much trouble writing this, you guys. I sat down, determined to finish this chapter, so many times but just ended up blankly staring at the screen. For months. I feel like I just got over a huge obstacle with this and I really hope you all like it


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